"Red Regatta"

  We were so very lucky to have been in Venice on Sept 15 to see the 'Red Regatta', a major public art project by New York artist Melissa McGill. This was one of several 'performances' that happened throughout the Biennale, May-September.

  We spied a poster which told us where and when, and we put it on our calendar as a 'not to be missed' event.
  I am so glad we did!

  This regatta took place in the lagoons between Torcello and Burano, about a 40 minute boat ride from Venice. It was a gorgeous day for to be on the water, and the bonus was being able to get a pretty good look at the latest installation "Building Bridges" by artist Lorenzo Quinn.

  This work is kind of tucked away near the back side of the Arsenale, so it was a treat to see it from the waterway...

It is massive.

 
Once we hopped off the boat bus (vaporetto), we took a stroll along the canal and soon saw the first sign of what we were here for...

 

We were later informed that all the boats involved in this piece are traditional vessels
from this area of the Veneto. On this day, there were 40 in all, we were told.

  As it got closer to 2pm, the 'launch' time of the event, we watched as more and more boats gathered. The crew of each boat were wearing red t-shirts. There were men and women, some kids... all ages, really.

The gathering tide....

 Soon the sails began unfurling. It was quite something to see. 

In the distance you will notice the church bell tower on the island of Torcello. This just added to the 

magical feeling of the moment.

  We were sitting along the canal with a bottle of local white wine, mesmerized by the whole scene. There was a small but engaged crowd, and we got to know each other over the hour we spent together waiting and watching...

  Finally, the boats all lined up and headed into the canal, where they sailed around together for quite some time. It was so beautiful. The reflections in the water from the sails were lovely. The weather and wind was perfect for them.

The colors of the sails and the water...perfection.
I think Mr. J was inspired!

  We found out that each sail was hand painted and each was a slightly different color. Once we were told, we could make out the differences...

Some were pinker, some more magenta...some very close in color, but no.
All different!

  I shot two short videos, though the quality isn't great. You can see more of the color differences here.

  Hopefully, you'll still get the idea...

  

  We knew they would be out there for some time, and that they were ending the day in Torcello, so we hopped yet another boat to get to that island, about a ten minute ride.

  We wanted to hike up to the top of the bell tower for a bird's eye view!

Torcello is actually one of the first islands to be inhabited here. Before Venice...
This is a very historical spot. Perfect for this Regatta.

Yes, we did...

Looking up the inner tower.
Yikes.

  I'm so happy we made this choice! Though the boats never made it to Torcello. I don't know why...

  I still loved seeing the end of the event from this vantage point.

Some of the boats came near, but most pulled in their sales nearer Burano, in the distance

The red and green and silver, too...
Yum.

You can see the skyline of Venice way back there...

This single boat made it over to Torcello.
I was quite taken by the poignant image this created.

Thank you all for a very remarkable afternoon.

  Afterwards, we stopped in at a very local lunch spot for a bite to eat. We love these places! You order at the counter, find a table...they call your name, and there you go! Lunch, Italian style!

Waitin' for lunch.

The boat ride back was packed, as was most of Venice, to be honest.
This is the reality of a Sunday trip to the outer islands.
 We're too tight to call a private boat taxi...

But, you know what?
We STILL had a blast!

Here are some cool links, if you want more information on this day:

Melissa Mc Gill's 'Red Regatta'

Lorenzo Quinn & 'Building Bridges'

Torcello

Burano

Bikes On The Lido And Dinner Afterward

  We've done it before, and we couldn't wait to do it again...I need a break from all the museums. I love all the art, but there is a point where I start to suffer from major 'Museum Fatigue'

  Renting bikes to ride along the long, narrow island of The Lido, just a twenty minute boat ride from Venice, is a great antidote!

  

The boat ride over to the Lido in the early morning is wonderful...

We chose a perfect day.

See you later, Venice!

  There are several places to rent bikes, and it's so affordable! We were out for most of the day, and it was 10 euros each. Nice!

We stopped by the outdoor market to 'ooo & ahhh' over the veggies....

  We like to ride all the way down to the 'bottom' of the island, stopping along the way to sit and enjoy the local scene.
  It's pretty quiet around there.

When you just want to get away from the hoards in Venice...

A sweet hedgehog plaque on a building caught my eye...

Venice is waaaaayyyy over there!

  We really enjoyed ourselves, and all the fresh air felt great. It was a very nice day out.
  After cleaning up a bit, we headed over to a favorite café near our apartment. It's situated in a park, with lots of green around, which is hard to come by in Venice...

Back in Venice, we relaxed after our bike ride.

  

  Even though we rode all day, miles and miles (well, about 15), we had to walk all the way across Venice for dinner at yet another favorite spot.  We had a much needed reservation, and didn't want to miss out. 

  It was still lovely out, and the walk was sweet, despite the thousands of people around...

Tired and hungry!
(jeez, I look exhausted...)

Where's my dinner?

  There are a couple of places we love because they have lots of vegetarian options. This spot is known for fish, but we always enjoy the salads and vegetable platters . We also had pasta this time.
  Come on, we were bushed from all that exercise, and hungry!

The best 'Greek' salad we've ever had!

I didn't get to this photo until we were half way through the veg plate!
It was yummy, too...

  While we waited for our main pasta dishes, we enjoyed all the buzz around us. We were outside, along a main canal, and it was just a kick watching the families coming and going in this neighborhood...
  Then, all of a sudden, this guy in a chef outfit rolls up along side us with a big round of parmesan cheese which he was stirring our hot pasta in, with some pasta water...this created the sauce for our pasta.
  We've had this before, it's quite a show...but we had no idea when we ordered this dish that it would be prepared at the table. We really don't like the hoopla of all this...it's kind of embarrassing to us, but the pasta was good!
  I was too embarrassed to take photos while the chef was working the pasta. Everybody was watching...I don't like that sort of thing.

"Bigoli" (a special regional pasta) done cacio & pepe style...lots of black pepper and cheese.
Uh, yes, please.

  On my way back from the restroom, I did get some kitchen photos. These guys are working hard all night!

A little fun from one of the kitchen crew.

It's always packed here, especially on a Saturday night.

 Back on the other side of Venice, we enjoyed a stroll down our street, with a full moon to add some extra extra-ness.

  

Nice.

  I have more to post about Venice, but we leave tomorrow to get back home to The Nut, so we'll see what I get to before we go...Today, more exhibitions, lots more walking and more food & wine.
  It's a tough job, but we're up to the task!

Arriving To Venice

  We are in Venice for yet another Biennale week... Joy!

  We have loads of venues we want to visit while we are here, so it will be a very busy week, with lots of walking and lots of contemporary art. And lots of food and wine, no doubt.

  Since we woke up early, I will make this a quick post...we both want to get up and out, start our day!

I swear, we packed more to come here for 1 week than we packed for 2 months at The Nut!
Waiting for the train to zoom us to Venice yesterday...

  It's hard to take a bad photo here, that's the truth.

  These are just some shots as we rode up the Grand Canal on our way to our apartment rental...

  Walking around after unpacking, we just enjoyed the scene-

A stark reminder that we tourists are not exactly loved
in Venice these days...sigh.
Boy, do we understand.

Beautiful detail along our stroll.

Some veggie 'cicchetti' (small bites) at a favorite spot.

St. Mark’s Basilica at night...

  A great first day/night...despite a small spat.
  More to come soon-hopefully not more spats, though!

First Morning Walk Autumn 2019

  It has taken a couple of days to get our heads back on straight after the flight from California to Italy. The older we get, the tougher it is to recover from jet lag, it seems...

  Yesterday we woke up late again, but decided we needed a morning walk to get back into routine here. The weather was cool enough, and it was a gorgeous morning...

  We chose a gentle walk down the hill and through the fields below The Nut. Perfection.

 It's so different from springtime now, and I love seeing the change of seasons. All the vineyards in the area are bursting with beautiful bunches of glistening grapes.

  If fact, this is the weekend of the Wine Festival in town. We may go up to Bar Gallo this evening to sit and watch the hoards of people milling about. It's the final night of the festa, and we have yet to go check it out. It can be kind of crazy, but fun.

Really hard to resist!

  Many of the fields have been tilled for the next crops...

  This was an easy walk, with only our road back up the hill causing us to work a little harder. We have many mornings ahead for longer, tougher walks. I look forward to them!

  

  Back home at The Nut, we took time to check out the border we helped plant last fall. The roses, lavender, guara and rosemary have really filled in!

Johnny checking out the new border, and the view, which never gets old.

The walk up to the house never gets old, either...

  Back inside, I made brunch for us. An odd combo of tomatoes, left over roasted potatoes from the night before, and the last of a hunk of smoked ricotta we had bought in Rome.
  It was quite yummy...

  We had a nice day hanging around the house, for the main part. 

  It will take another day or two before we feel 'normal', so we're taking it slow.

   Before calling it a night, I stepped outside onto the terrace around 9:30, and couldn't resist grabbing my camera to take this night time shot of one of the beautiful olive trees in the front garden.

  

 It's good being back home.