I’m so used to us going away in April I misdated the first lot of posts! Today we started off with scrambled eggs and pancetta before heading out for another 5 hour walk. We stopped for lunch at Al Vaporetto Ristorante for pizzas. I had the diavola (€9) with pomodoro, mozzarella and salame and Dave had the Napoli (€9). We had a carafe of white wine and the total bill was €30. We made our way back to The Irish Pub to watch the grand prix. Gelato today was a scoop of Doge’s tiramisu for me and Sicilian pistachio for Dave. We walked through the Jewish Ghetto where there is an army station outside the embassy. There is a wall naming all the Jews, with their ages, sent to the Concentration Camps. We had drinks at Al Bagolo, prosecco for me and merlot for Dave (€4.50) before doing grocery shopping for dinner. We cooked the other half of the fish and served it with trofie di semola with a shrimp sauce. The sauce was made from shallots, garlic, rosemary, shrimps, cream, lemon zest and cream. Wine tonight is Zonin Valpolicella 2011. Dessert was strawberries and cream. Crackers with assiago and pesto completed our meal.
Saturday May 25 Venice
Ten hours sleep was most welcome! We woke up at 7am and had a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs with pancetta. Thankfully the unit has a small dishwasher so cleaning up is easy. We went to the fish market and got fresh fish for supper. It looks like a baby tuna and cost €6. We bought grapes and mushrooms and a lemon at the Rialto market before doing grocery shopping at Coop. We then dropped everything off at the apartment before heading in the direction of the station and for a long walk around Venice. We stopped for a beer each to watch the end of Formula 1 practice 3. I had a 250ml Peroni draft and Dave had Kilkenny (€5.50). We walked a couple more hours before heading back to the Irish Pub for lunch and to watch the qualifying. I had the Kilkenny at lunch and Dave had a Guinness. We had filled toasted flat breads and Dave had a slice of almond custard slice (€14.60). We walked back to the Grand Canal, stopping for gelato on the way. I had casanova which was very good but I have no idea of the actual flavour other than fudgey toffee. Dave had a scoop of lemon. We had a quick espresso before coming back to the apartment at 16:30. We walked for 5 hours! On opening the packet of the fish fillets it looks and smells more like mackerel. We made a sauce with tomato, anchovy and sage to go on the fish. Mushrooms and asparagus were panfried to go with the fish which was also panfried. Wine tonight is Santa Cristina Annata 2011. The very good fish dinner was followed by strawberries and cream. Asiago cheese with pesto on salt biscuits finished off the meal.
Friday May 24 Zurich to Venice
Breakfast on the plane was much needed coffee, orange juice, rolls and cheese. Our transfer was a breeze and we caught an A320 to Venezia. The flight was bumpy and the coffee luke warm and we landed to a cold and wet day. We had a mortadella panini at the airport before catching the bus to Venice. The ATVO Venezia Express cost €6 each in comparison to €110 each for a water taxi. After crossing a few bridges, some of them more than once, we found the check in and made our way to the apartment. It has a bedroom, bathroom, lounge and kitchen and is more than adequate for our needs. A quick shower and then we went shopping for lunch, supper and breakfast goodies. We had an espresso each on the way to the shops €2 for both! We got instant coffee but there is no kettle in the unit so I will boil water on the stove top. Lunch was a simple bread roll with proscuitto, cheese, tomatoes and pesto. After lunch we went for a walk to the Rialto bridge and market. I bought some pasta to bring home. We did a fair bit of walkong before stopping at Al Bagolo for two glasses of Rabaso (€2) and Dave had an espresso as I am a slow drinker. We went back to COOP for cream, cheese and crackers before heading back to the apartment.
Thursday May 23 Cape Town to Zurich
Well, we are sitting in the SAA business class lounge in Cape Town with half an hour to go before we board our flight. It is quite warm here so I’m not even thinking about changing until we get to Johannesburg. Our holiday has finally started and I hope you all enjoy reading our daily diary! We flew on an Airbus A330-200 and the flight was comfortable. The SAA diabetic meal was good and now we are sitting in the Premier Lounge in international departures at OR Tambo. Our flight left ten minutes late due to only being able to land at 6:05. We still made up time in the air and circled Zurich before landing. There was no diabetic meal for me on board, but I had a nice pasta meal with a side salad, a pear and cheese and a bread roll. Dave and I had some wine and then it was sleep time for me. We were on the last seats on the A340-300 and I got about 6 hours sleep.
Italy 2013 