When I left you yesterday we were on our way to the opera. Well, at least I thought we were. Turns out that last night we went to the Chiesa Della Pieta, also referred to as the “Vivaldi Church” to hear a string ensemble play Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”. They also played pieces by Handel and Bach. For an encore, we were treated to “Recomposed: by Max Richter, Vivaldi – The Four Seasons”. The group was excellent. Patrice spoke to one of the musicians after the performance and found out that the group was part of a 40-piece orchestra the musicians rotate playing at the venue. This was a real treat. Interesting to me was that just like at La Scala in Milan, the musicians did not talk to the audience before, during, or after the performance.
Video of the Vivaldi church prior to the concert:
Video of ensemble playing “Recomposed by Max Richter”. I hope this doesn’t break any copyright rule and bring down my site.
After the brief concert (a little over one hour) we went to dinner at Vecia Cavana (Via Tera Santi Apostoli, 4624, 30121 Venezia VE). We have been using Google Maps to get around and when I put in the restaurant as the destination it gave me two estimates, 17 minutes by car (no cars in Venice) or 16 by foot. For obvious reasons, we decided to walk. We could only get a late reservation and since the concert was very short we arrived very early. I spoke to the maître d’ and said we were a little early (about 40 minutes to be more precise). He said we would have to wait, about 5 or 10 minutes. That was great and he asked us to sit outside and that he would send out an “aperitif”. Moments later a server came out with two glasses with a pinkish liquid. Patrice asked what they were and he said, “It’s a secret” but finally fessed up that they were grapefruit juice and ginger. They were delicious and really made us feel wanted by the staff (who doesn’t want to feel wanted?). A few minutes later we were escorted to our table. The server explained that Vecia means old and Cavana is a place to store a boat. The restaurant is located at the site of a 16th-century boathouse, thus the name.
We had an excellent meal and really enjoyed the restaurant’s piano player. At one point he started playing “Here Comes the Bride” and they brought out a cake with the number 50 because a couple from Texas was celebrating their 50th anniversary that night. They told us that they were on an anniversary celebration trip lasting the entire month of October and would be meeting their 5 children at the end of the trip in Rome.
Today we had a free day and my tour guide, and wife outdid the professionals. First, we went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. It was small but very impressive. There were a lot of Picassos, Magrittes, and other famous artists’ works. Max Ernst has a number of pieces and we found out he was married to Peggy Guggenheim from 1942-1946. He also had three other wives spanning from 1918 (when he was 27) until his death in 1978. According to Wikipedia, there was not one year during that time that he didn’t have a wife. I guess he hated having just cereal in the morning.
From there we took the water bus to San Giorgio island where we toured the Basilica Di San Giorgio Maggiore. They had a temporary exhibit beyond belief. It was a huge Murano glass sculpture by artist Ai Wei Wei from China. It’s made of over 2,000 pieces of handcrafted Murano black glass. It is six meters wide and nine meters high. It is the largest hanging sculpture made of Murano glass in the world. Please look at these pictures and keep in mind it is all glass.
In addition to the atrium glass masterpiece, there were a series of Lego sculptures in the hallway, depicting the various Chinese Zodiac signs. These specialties were also made by Wei Wei.
After that, we paid to go to the top of the Campanile Tower and we were treated to marvelous views from the tower. If you look at this video you will see a number of boats in the Grand Canal. Apparently, there is a regatta tomorrow and these boats will be participating. You will be able to tell (if your sound is turned on) when it is 2:30 because you will hear the bell and see the picture wobble as I almost dropped my camera (and became temporarily deaf).
Now it is off to the opera. Hmmm, I just had a deja vu moment.
We leave Venice tomorrow so I am not sure when I will post next. Tomorrow is a very special day because we will be seeing the most important person on our trip. More about that tomorrow.
Ciao
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 