On my first night in Venice, I headed in the general direction of the Rialto Bridge. This bridge is one of the few that traverses the Grand Canal and is probably the most famous one in Venice. On the exterior, one can find amazing views down the canal and to the streets below. On the interior of the bridge, you can find a plethora of shops. While tricky to navigate on the steps, they do offer some great Venetian masks and people watching.
Foscari Palace (the hotel I'm staying at) is on the same side of the Grand Canal as the Piazza San Marco (home to Venice's most famous sites...and most reproduced if you can't The Venetian in Las Vegas and Disney World). Dinner on my first night brought me over the Rialto Bridge, to the other side of the Grand Canal, and to a seat along the water at Ristorante Terrazza Sommariva.
The view from my seat (part one).
While I can't say many nice things about the waitstaff, I can say wonderful things about the food and the view.
The wine of choice for the night was a Cabernet Sauvignon that was bottled in Venice. Before coming to Italy, my lovely best friend and roomie had told me that I must try langoustines with pasta. While I didn't have the pasta this time around, I did try the langoustines and they were delicious. The best way I can describe my scampi alla griglia is a cross-breed of shrimp and lobster that tastes like shrimp. In any case, I was a happy camper.
The wine and my eating utensils (having never used anything like them before, I was slightly intimidated).
The langoustines (scampi alla griglia).
Though music wasn't in abundance, the soft sound of water lapping against the gondola boats and sides of the canal provided the perfect background noise to the subtle lighting and darkening night sky. It definitely wasn't difficult to make dinner a multi-hour affair.
The view (part two).
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