Sleeping With The Gambinos, But Not With The Fishes

Friday. We are up and packed and ready. We sit out on the lovely terrazzo, play a few hands of scopa and then Jim loads us up and heads us out..."it's a long uphill walk to the train station." We arrive...35 minutes early. But then that's the tradition....the first time over an hour, the second time about 50 minutes, last time about 45 so....the schedule is improving. The trip is fairly uneventful, except when the ticket inspector looked our ticket over for a long time, punched it and gave it back, but then had second thoughts and asked for it again. I was getting worried...I didn't think a €50 per person fine was going to sit well with the budget. Turns out the train line that serves this run had changed since we had purchased our tickets in August...not really a problem after all. There are no Asian tourists with travel questions for Jim so the rest of the ride is calm. We navigate the train station and the two metro transfers and arrive at our hotel. The family that runs it is very nice...the Gambino family...you can't make this stuff up. We arrive and Mama Gambino is yelling at the tiny TV over the bar....she has some disagreement about something that is happening on her telanovella....papa Gambino just shrugs. Our room is small...and the bathroom is tiny....ok there isn't a word that is tiny enough for the bathroom. Seriously, while seated on the toilet you can turn the water on in the sink, bidet and shower (that is while still seated!). And if you are going to construct a bathroom in a closet...could you maybe leave out the bidet...evidently not! We (I) unpack and we walk down to make a reservation at Da Bruno's restaurant...we always go there when in Milan...they are closed...some type of plumbing problem in the kitchen...Al, we could have used you!

Saturday. Breakfast doesn't come with the room this time so the first order of business is to find a good bar with coffee and a cornetto. We find a lovely one...sadly they will be closed tomorrow so there will have to be another search. We do some wandering and some window shopping...this is Milan, fashion capital...Jim is busy steering me away from anything that resembles a shoe store! We have lunch at a really fun vegetarian restaurant...I just want to point out Jim is in charge of food procurement here...and this was his pick....and it was vegetarian! We asked Papa Gambino about the scopa cards used locally....there was some miscommunication (ok...so my Italian is not perfect) and he thought we were wanting to take HIS scopa cards. We straightened that misconception out in a hurry ( they are Gambinos after all!) We explained that we were learning and wanted to buy our own scopa cards. Turns out he was a champion scopa player! We were wandering around killing time before our dinner reservation when we happened upon a 24 hour hat and sock vending machine....only in Milan Italy! Dinner was in a small family run restaurant....all locals.....it was really fun...and tasty.

Sunday. It's our last day in country. We search out a bar for coffee and cornetto, pick up our last deck of Scopa cards and come back to try and check in for our flight, online. In the afternoon we walk to Eataly Milano. A little background...Jim's uncle kept texting us to go to Eataly while we were in Rome. We were picturing a large store of Italian food products, we're not too excited but decide we should go since it was obvious he really wanted us to go. Well it is literally located in an old aircraft hanger. Four floors with every kind of food imaginable. Restaurants each serving a specialty ( there was a cheese restaurant, a beef restaurant, pizza, pasta, fried fish, vegetables, pannini... 2 kinds...you get the idea) It was huge. So now back to the story...we learn there is an Eataly in Milan...woohoo...lets go! We walk about a mile and a half and we are looking... and looking...and looking...where is there a hanger size building? Where are the amazing food smells? Finally I ask the guy at the magazine stand..he says it's in the basement of the Coin department store....ok, not quite the same thing. Although we had a wonderful lunch with entertainment provided by the cooks behind the bar. Not the same but very fun. We walk back to our hotel and Papa Gambino is in the lobby. We tell him we got our cards from his "scopa card guy" and he is pleased. He administers an exam on the finer points of scopa playing and we pass with flying colors. He tells us to practice and we will all play the next time we come to Milan. All that's left is to pack and ....well....we don't want to talk about that now!!

Scopa, Scopa Cabana

Tuesday. We are up bright and early...ok early for us...because the plan for the day is a ferry to Bellagio. We are down stairs for breakfast (after Starzky and Hutch of course) when we learn that today there is a ferry strike. No trip to Bellagio on our horizon unless we want to rent a private taxi boat. Instead we just wander around town and enjoy the relaxation of doing nothing in particular. Then it happens.,
.,,Jim discovers Luigi. Now, Luigi makes "pizze d'asporto" ( take out). At first we were uncertain, but Jim learns he is from the amalfi area and cooks true Neapolitan style pizza. We decide to get some to go and have a picnic lunch on the harbor. We order two pizzas and when we tell him they look good he tells us in Italian that how do we know, we have not eaten them yet. We also get beer and prosecco to go with the pizzas (when was the last time you got prosecco with your Dominoes order?). We go down to the harbor and eat pizza with our feet dangling over the lake, watching the ducks and toasting the day. After we finished our lunch we stopped back by Luigi's so that I could tell him that now we had eaten the pizza and again we say " bravo!" We spend the afternoon playing scopa (an italIan card game) and enjoying the view from our balcony.

Wednesday. The boats are running, so we finish our morning routine and head to the ferry. On the ride over to Bellagio we heard a woman talking...we know that accent...is mom here somewhere....we meet Dorothy, a feisty 70ish woman from Brooklyn. She was married to a Jim ("God rest his soul" ) and is traveling by herself on her way to an Italian language class in Rome...she was a kick. We ate lunch in a trattoria named San Giacomo's. "The Mama" is there bring food to the table and all the while scowling at everyone...that is until she see Jim's first course plate when he is finished...she breaks into a grin and from that point forward we were golden. She adored him and his clean plates. When we left Jim got a kiss. We have eaten all we can in Bellagio and head back to Varenna for a relaxing end of the day and a little scopa. We are still full from lunch when dinner time rolls around and Jim decides we should visit Luigi again. Since he is only a take out establishment we sit at plastic tables outside his restaurant. But the pizza is good and the beer and prosecco are good....what more do we need. A young couple ( from New York...hmmm, is this some kind of sign?) joins us at the plastic table and the conversation only adds to the joy of the evening. Luigi tells us he is touched that Jim likes his pizza so much...Jim, his tummy and his clean plate philosophy are making friends all across Italy.

Thursday. We have to go to the post office to check on the package we sent from Volterra. We think it should have arrived in the US already and the online tracking site is not working. The woman is very helpful and we ultimately determined that the boat from Poste Italia is just a slow one. Jim takes our recyclables down to the local deposit site...Jim likes some good recycling! We have a quiet lunch at one of the harbor bars (can anyone say another Aperol spritz please?). And then for dinner we head back up the hill to chef Moreno's. They have been house hunting for us and have two prospects lined up... I'll be shooting off some emails on those! The meal is amazing (of course!) and we are full and "happy" ( what is the alcohol content of that Fragolino?) as they drive us back to our hotel. Tomorrow is a travel day so it's off to bed for us...ok maybe one hand of scopa.

Basta Pasta, When Eight Courses Are Truly Enough

Sunday. It's a travel day again. Jim says good bye to his friend at breakfast, we load up our bags and our cookies and head for one final Venice boat ride. We are planning on taking the infamous 5.2 but the 4.2 arrived first and was headed in our direction and we passed by Giudecca, which we hadn't seen before as a bonus. We had assigned seats on this train and they were great...Jim had leg room and the person sitting next to me was quiet and nice. We were able to board before all the people with the giant suitcases tried to board and drag their luggage through the aisles....don't even get me started on the over-sized suitcases! I read and we enjoy a cheese, cracker and Nutella lunch. While I am reading I become aware that Jim is holding an extended conversation with a young Asian girl in the seat in front of him....she is asking about her train ticket, how far to Lake Garda (which it turns out is where she is heading), what they should do when they get to Lake Garda and where would he suggest she go after Lake Garda...I'm looking around for the "Giacomo's Travel Consultation" sign....Jim is getting out maps and books and helping her to plan her whole trip....from his seat on the train! We arrive in Milano...I use the pay toilet...Jim won't (see "I don't Pay To Pee) and we are actually able to board early and get another good seat. When we arrive in Varenna we head into town from the train station, bags in hand, on foot. We pass a group of people (any of you that have ever walked anywhere with Jim will not be surprised by that fact) with luggage who had gotten off of the train ahead of us. As we are completing our check in process they arrive..they are staying at the same hotel...the one woman comments " you guys went flying past us...you were hauling ass!" Couldn't really argue with that!

Monday. Jim once again has access to Starzky and Hutch, and I have a bath tub (woohoo!!!) that has a window that looks out over the lake....that being said....we were not the first people at breakfast that morning. We take a wander around town and pick up salami, cheese and prosciutto for a beautiful lunch on our balcony. I do some wash (there is always wash), talk to the hotel cats and enjoy the view. It is very calm here and relaxing. For dinner we went to Il Caminetto. The restaurant is in the hamlet (population 90) of Gittana. The Chef Moreno and his wife Rossella are acquaintances from our precious trips. When we arrive there is a group of 12 already seated. The chef greets us and we talk a bit and then we each order the pasta and a meat second course and I ordered the missoltino with polenta appetizer. The missoltino comes and I eat it all. Rossella tells us in Italian...bravo and comments I even ate the heads...I ask if that is correct and she says yes in Gittana they eat the heads...but not her she does like the eyes looking in her stomach. The pasta comes and it's just right for two...perfect we are in great shape for eating our second course without any problem. The chef returns to the table with a bowl of gnocchi with Gorgonzola and says "the risotto with be right up" ....gnocchi! Risotto! This is not good! And we still have meat on it's way! We push on and manage to finish all three pasta dishes but we're not looking good....I am really regretting the missoltino appetizer! The chef comes back to the table to ask if we would like to shorten our second course order and we both exclaim "yes!" It turns out that the group was a Rick Steves Tour and they have a special tasting menu. The chef thought we should sample everything they were getting as well. Once the meal was finished and the limoncello (tonight it really was the we ate like pigs limoncello) we had a chance to visit, hear about the family and catch up and I practiced a lot of Italian. It was a lovely evening.

Son of a Beach, Where The Hell Is it?

Friday. Jim's friend is back and they harass each other through breakfast. It's DHL day. After estimating the size of box we need we head to the DHL office. They are very nice there but speak almost no English. We procure a box and tape and head back to pack it up. Giuliano the hotel owner loaned us a pair of scissors and nodded saying " if you come back down with out your wife I won't say anything!".... he had Jim covered! Everything fit so we taped it up and headed back...another successful shipping adventure. As a reward we head to the Nono Risorto for a celebratory pizza...our only frame of reference for the location is the Venice fish market....exactly what it sounds like...an open air market with each vendor's fish displayed on tables and buckets (to hold the live ones) and at the end of the day the seagulls fight over the scrapes. After the well deserved, and very tasty, pizza we went to find La Fenice, the opera house about which The City of Falling Angels was written. It was fun to see it after having read the book. For dinner we walk to the Mascaron, another cichetti bar...a swear it was Jim's idea! This time, with Gigi's help ( I point and he say ..e buono..it is good) I pick out our cichetti ...that is not to say that it was any more identifiable than last time....except for the potatoes. It is a loud, lively place and the food is good. In addition to, cicchetti we share spaghetti and clams....again I stress this is Jim's idea!! It's late when we finish eating....loud and lively but not necessarily quick! We miss having our evening ride on the Grand Canal so we hop on a vaporetto out to Lido..we have it perfectly timed...we'll arrive on the line 1 at 11:59 and jump on the 5.2 at 12:02.... Couple of issues with this plan...aren't there always issues?....the line 1 docks at one end of the building and of course the 5.2 departs from the other end of the building....we run, we can make it, wait you need the tickets to open the gate...dig those out of Jim's wallet as we run ...ok we got this ..wait our ticket won't open the gate! But then it isn't opening for the nice Italian girl and her boy friend who are in front of us either, she is yelling....finally she gets one to open and all of us enter on her ticket....whew...we can actually get back to our hotel and we won't have to sleep on the dock of Lido until the boats run again in the morning...disaster adverted. Bed looks good about now.

Saturday. Jim is searching for a particular calendar for his mom. We head back to Cannaregio. We are distracted by a used book store and venture in. It is packed with used books...in all kinds of water resistant containers...bath tubs, gondolas, various other small boats and buckets and plastic containers. Out towards the garden there are stairs built from stacks of books; if you climb up, you get a beautiful view of the canal. Through the back ( towards the "fire escape" the water laps right up to the door opening. Jim begins to panic...how does he know what he has here? Does he audit the inventory each year? These stacks are all helter skelter....I buy a used book and Jim finds a calendar and as we prepare to leave Jim asks how he knows what he has and the owner shrugs and says he doesn't! We had planned on a picnic today but it's raining so we duck into a little bar and have a sandwich. It's really crowded and Jim offers some of his bench to a girl that is part of a group of 6 young people (with a dog...here they can come practically everywhere...including restaurants). It turns out they are from Lake Como and just visiting Venice, they take bets on where Jim is from, ask the English word for the sound you make when you sleep (snoring!) and we making friends with the dog (who had his own sandwich by the way). The rain has stopped so we take a walk down to the park (Pam, you were right very pretty and quiet). There is a beautiful statue/fountain to Garibaldi...(there are lots of statues in honor of Garibaldi...if in doubt it's probably for Garibaldi)... It raises up out of a fish pond and has moss and plants growing amongst the figures. We decide to take the boat to Lido..Jim thought perhaps it deserved a longer visit than 2 minutes at night! We boat over and head into town, after a couple of blocks we decide we would rather see the beach ( while all of Venice is surrounded by water, Lido is the only part that has a beach) so we head back they way we came and walked for about 15 minutes...no beach in sight...guess we should check the map...there's the beach at the end of the road we had been on in the first place! We finally arrive at the beach and wander for a bit (sadly there was no Venetian sea glass to be found). We decide to head back and jump on the 5,2...ok the 5.2 line runs in a circle starts at Lido goes around the island until it"s back at Lido. Jim, the son of the son of a bowler decides we should not get off at our stop (3rd stop) but instead ride it full circle ("that should take about 45 minutes by my calculation") and then just stay on until it passes our stop again. Brilliant plan! It is a beautiful ride; we get a great seat outside, in the back of the boat and an hour and 35 minutes later when we are told to get off the boat at Lido, we find the line 1 and go back to our hotel. We have our last meal in Venice back at La Madonna. When we return to the hotel there is a package of cookies from the owners with a thank you note for staying with them...this room was so wonderful and they have been so sweet we should be sending them cookies!