Last night we went to see a performance by Interpreti Veneziani at the Chiesa san Vidal, across from Accademia. For E25.00 each it was a lovely night out, easy listening, in a beautiful location. According to our Lonely Planet guide the venue is no longer functioning as a church, instead it is the concert hall for Interpreti Veneziani. The church was built "as a monument to the glories of God and two Venetian dogi". Inside were some lovely paintings and sculptures but I regret not walking around a bit more before we found our seats (right in the front row!). I'm sure I would have enjoyed looking at all of them.
When the concert had finished we had no problems hopping back on the vaporetto 1 and heading back down the canal. It was quite cool but there were still lots of people about. I was disappointed the canal wasn't very lit up at night, particularly Salute. It's such a grand statement that church. So beautiful at the mouth of the Grand Canal. A masterpiece.
Speaking of masterpieces, the Rialto Bridge is always spectacular. I love the area. The hussle and bussle. The bridge, the shops, the view.
We actually spent most of yesterday around the Rialto area. We left our apartment around 10am and wandered the back streets enroute to Fanny, which is where we've picked up leather goods in the past. We also had to check out a small shop that sold model gondolas and kits for DIY. Unfortunately the ready-made one was E110.00 so that didn't exactly encourage a sale. We realise a lot of work went into it, but still a bit on the expensive side for us.
We weaved around the streets and back canals, with me stopping every 10 or so minutes to snap at something that grabbed my eye. Everywhere you looked were glass shops, jewellery outlets, mask shops, leather, shoes, tourist stalls. Every corner there's something to look at. I got stuck in a scarf and jewellery shop for a while (yes how surprising) but didn't end up acquiring anything (even more surprising!).
I did manage to part with quite a bit of money at my favourite shop on the Rialto Bridge - Rivoaltus. Everytime we have visited Venice we can't help but buy things here. The people are lovely and the shop has some lovely notebooks and journals, pens, pictures. I managed to control myself and not buy any of the journals this time, however we still have more than three weeks here and my resolve could still weaken! Time will tell.
As we were in the Rialto area I checked a restaurant tip from an industry colleague. We followed the instructions to the church of San Giovanni Crisostomo and then the little alley opposite. We weaved down and around and came out a beautiful old courtyard. And there is was Taverna Del Campiello Remer, hidden away in a picturesque spot.
For E20.00 we had a buffet lunch, pasta, wine, water and coffee. Absolute bargain and the food was scrumptious. Personally I could have spent all afternoon at the buffet. And the wine was very easy to drink - I dare say we got ourselves a little bit tipsy!
A day of shopping and an evening of classical music. It was a lovely way to spend the day.
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