The evening of March 31, Max and I planned to meet for dinner at La Calcina where we have dinner reservations at 7:30.
I’m early and I’m waiting in that lovely room.
This man will be our waiter.
I zoomed in on the table setting in the next room.
It helps to have reservations as we were ushered to a corner table by the window.
Max ordered a Caesar salad and I ordered this salad which was artichokes from the nearby island of Sant’Erasmo which is known for it’s market gardens. The artichokes are topped with shavings of parmigiano reggiano. They called the red berries “ribes” and I researched and they are related to currants and gooseberries.
I also had pasta busara this time with salmon.
The view from the window was extremely distracting being it was my last night in the city of my dreams.
We finished our meal with dessert…sorry, no pictures. He ordered strawberries and cream and I had gelato…limone.
As we walked to the vaporetto the new moon was hovering over the Molino Stucky complex.
Meandering with Misha 
That place is all kinds of wonderful indeed.
It will always be one of my favorite places.
Oh no, your last night! I’ve fallen completely behind on your blog, but I’m looking forward to catching up on it. What a lovely restaurant and the meal sounds delicious.
It’s so hard to say goodbye. I hope the trip was everything you hoped for!
I must say that it was a different trip than I anticipated when I started the first plans last July. I expected to be over all of the side effects of my cancer treatment and be able to walk unassisted but I wasn’t. It made for a totally different trip. But it was indeed a healing journey Lulu.
It was Susie. Next time you are in Venice you need to go there but also make sure to check out Trattoria da Jonny…out of the way, no view but it truly is the best meal ever. Not a quiet or romantic (depending on your definition of that) place but full of local people on a Thursday evening by 9pm. I think you’d love it.
Grazie Cara, its now on my wish list. I know Mike and Karen are fond of it, and it is in your old neighborhood, correct? Speaking of neighborhoods, how did you feel about staying on Giudecca?
Yes, it is right across the Scudi Bridge from my favorite apartment. And mention the Hendersons to Jonny and you become immediate family.
Ah, staying on Giudecca. If my health had been different it would not have been an issue. For me it was a long 15 minute walk to the vaporetto. If it weren’t for the neuropathy and lack of energy I could have done it in five minutes. Also where I was actually staying (the apartment itself) was so quiet…too quiet. When I opened the windows all I heard were the gulls, some birdsong and the workmen who were all over digging up pavers and working on the lines beneath (that was all over the island…a special project to upgrade those lines). No local people going about their business, no children playing etc. The apartment itself was lovely and the only reason I won’t give it a five star review is the bed was so hard it would have been softer to sleep on the floor. It was beyond extra firm. I solved the problem by taking the cushions off the sofa and putting them end to end on the bed…effectively making the king sized bed a twin. It would not have worked if there had been two people. I didn’t have the energy to pull out the sleeper sofa to see if it was more comfortable. There is one recent review on Trip Advisor complaining about the bed…so it may be new because all other reviews are really positive.
The pluses….I would not have found the Sacca Fisola Friday Market, I would not have eaten in any of the restaurants at the Hilton (or met the charming Vincenzio). In Sacca Fisola itself (on the other side of that long bridge) it was really a local vibe but I wasn’t staying in the middle of that. I wasn’t in the beating heart of Venice which is where I wanted to be. The apartment was inexpensive and actually very nice…where else can you get a one bedroom apartment in Venice (low season remember and I got a discount for staying a month) for 50 Euros a night? Would I stay there again? Probably not…just because of the bed. Would I recommend it to anyone else, yes with a warning about the bed. Like I said, it would have been much easier without my current limited mobility.
Such a wonderful month, Michelle! I followed along avidly. Limitations or not, you had a trip filled with new experiences, great food, fabulous weather, and fun visitors. Bravissima!
Grazie, Laurel. And you have a couple of new restaurants to try your next visit.
Michelle, thank you for taking the time to review all of the positives and negatives! I was thrilled with your market posts on Sacca Fisola, as I’ve wanted to visit that market, but never have. It sure was fun seeing the photos. €50 a night is an amazing deal!
It was really interesting at the market as I had to conduct my business completely in Italian. At the vegetable stand I made sure I went back to the same lady each week and she remembered me. Oh, and those eggs! I think the freshest I’ve had since I was a child and we had our own chickens. Well, worth the trek over there if you get a chance. It’s really just straight ahead off the Sacca Fisola vaporetto stop. And there’s a little bar on the campo where it’s held where you can get a cappuccino (and sit at a table) for E 1.50 (my keyboard does not do the sign for Euros).
Besides the E 50 a night there was a final cleaning fee of E 60…which is fairly normal and a refundable deposit of E 200….which I get back within 2 weeks. I booked it through TripAdvisor and used my credit card…rather than the usual cash on arrival. I hate having to buy Euros in the States (bad exchange rate) and carry enough cash to pay for a month.
Gosh, what a lovely piccie of the Molino Stucky at night. It was lovely that you got to discover some new things by staying in this spot and that price/value is amazing! I’d have been hopeless on that bed and I like your creativity in getting around it. 😉 Reading your description of the pros and cons, I’d want to stay in the beating heart, too, but if I was there often and they got softer mattresses, maybe I’d end up alternating. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your month-long stay with us, bella. It’s been thoroughly entertaining and lovely. Baci ed abbracci to you and Diavolo from Ella and me. x0x
Grazie Bella and Ella!
Now I’m hungry. Looks like I missed a bunch of posts.
You can always go back and read them later. Lots more food pictures!
Michelle! I’ve been following your posts for a while and I wish you well! I was able to be there for 9 days in 2008 and Venice is still in my heart;( may not ever return because of the world situation) but I really enjoyed your posts and pictures-you brought back my
memories of Venice…thank-you much!!!
Grazie! I’m so glad you enjoyed my visits. Hopefully someday I’ll be back. I don’t let the world situation keep me away….only my own health situation which isn’t the greatest right now (new post coming soon).