Walking and Lunch At Zucca

Once again, Venice calls. 

If you follow this little blog, you know we are in the Venice camp. We love Venice, and come back again and again. 

You can't beat this town for walking, and we have our favorite spots for meals. Nothing changes in our routine, and that's how we like it.

I have to say, it is much warmer than we would expect for October. Loads of people, too...

We are staying in an apartment we've stayed before. We like this part of town...Cannaregio. It's full of families and you feel like you are in a real community. There are lots of young people around in the evenings, and it has been discovered, for sure. But...we like seeing the same faces every morning, and have made some nice connections here.

The view from the apartment...

We've been here a couple of days, staying a few more. We're waking up early and enjoying the town as she wakes up.

On Thursday, we went for lunch at a favorite spot, Osteria La Zucca. It isn't a vegetarian restaurant, but it has many good choices for vegetarians and is known for this.

But first, we had to get there! We walk, and pride ourselves on avoiding the vaporettos (boat taxi), if possible. I like to take photos along the way...

A fab display!

I sure wish I could get inside this old gal and explore...
I just love the Moorish accents.

 

On a corner where two canals meet.

A wonderful square we enjoy sitting in.
Good people watching.

Outstanding street art!

So, we made our way to Zucca...with a reservation. If you want to eat at popular places here in Italy, make a reservation! With social media, everyone knows about all the good spots these days. 

We thought we'd eat outside, but changed our minds and sat at a canal side window inside. Good choice!

As we made our decisions, we were brought a basket of yummy bread...

We enjoyed sipping some house wine as we waited.

Our first courses did not disappoint!

Tagliatelle with a black kale and almond pesto.
I want to recreate this one!

Zucchini and winter squash lasagna.
I will order lasagna every time I see it on a menu.
If it's vegetarian. Always interesting and good!

We had our "contorni", or side dishes, as our second course. We are finding that we just can't eat as much as we used to, and often skip a starter, or share one dish.

We both ordered on this day...We share it all, passing plates back and forth.

These are "carciofi fondi", or artichoke hearts.
These were cooked with oil, garlic and parsley. Yum.

I've never seen this dish on a menu here.
"Frigitelli, or sweet peppers, are like our padrone peppers. Just a bit of heat.
These were pan fried and served with hummus and a drizzle of herbed oil.
I will do this at home!

It was a very nice meal. We'll return, as always...

I will do my best to keep posting! Please stay in touch, and don't forget to explore!