Our first foray into central Venice, however, was strategically built around food. We joined the Walks of Italy (www.walksofitaly.com) food and wine tour starting from the Rialto Market. Walks is a small but growing company founded by American Stephen Oddo, and whose team curates affordable, smaller group tours in Italy’s (and other countries’) busiest cities, each one specifically crafted to sidestep over-touristed sites and share exclusive travel experiences, in city or on rural day trips.
Among their roster of Venice tours is the “skip-the-line” tours of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica; a luxury water-taxi cruise through the canals, with a visit to the top of San Giorgio Island’s bell tower; and a full-day tour of four islands off of central Venice (including Murano and Burano).
Denise and Kelsy
On our food tour, Walks’ native-Venetian guide Barbara introduced us to the city’s bacari, or standing cafés, where customers can buy wine or Aperol spritzes at the counter to sip with delicious small bites called ciccheti (like Spanish tapas). Al Merca (Campo Bella Vienna, 213. Tel: 39-346-8340-0660. www.osteriaalmerca.it) and Al Volto (Calle Cavalli
4081. Tel: 39-041-522-8945) were our first stops, and though both were crowded with people, I made my way to the counter to order two Aperol spritzes and a few ciccheti. We fell hard for the polpette (meatballs of beef or tuna), savory codfish spread on sliced bread, and wee ham and truffle-cream-cheese sandwiches.
In one of my prouder moments, my Italian proved good enough that the bacari staff charged me the “local’s prices,” which are roughly about half off the listed menu prices (e.g. instead of paying eight euros for a spritz, I paid four). Denise and I toured and tasted our way through the area, absorbing Barbara’s culinary history lessons as we snacked on traditional flavors and day drank our aperitivos.
The next evening, we dressed up for a luxurious dining experience at Canova Restaurant (www.baglionihotels.com/restaurants/canovarestaurant), inside the Baglioni Hotel Luna (San Marco 1243. Tel: 39-041-8520051. www.baglionihotels.com). From its prime spot beside Piazza San Marco, we tried traditional-Venetian dishes and local Veneto wines in 18th-century elegance, with impeccable service fit for a doge (pronounced “doe-jay,” meaning “duke”).
After dinner we joined Walks unique “Alone in St. Mark’s Basilica After Hours” tour, with exclusive, evening access to the marvelous 11th century religious landmark. While tourists milled around the piazza outside, we privately visited the crypt of St. Mark himself, located in the cellar, but on a carved-stone riser to keep his enshrined remains safe from flooding. Our group was just 10 people, and apart from the guards, we were the only people inside for a half-hour. The basilica’s lights were dim, and we were asked to sit in the pews to hear our guide’s descriptions of the wall-to-wall biblical mosaics depicted in gilded tile across its enormous arched ceilings. There we found a precious few moments of serenity in the basilica’s hallowed halls, and the lights were slowly brightened for an evening mass, bathing in golden light each devotional depiction.
