Day 9 - our amazing first meal in Venezia

Remarkably, I haven't been blogging about the incredible meals we've been having all throughout this trip. It's quite shocking, really, as almost all of our dinners have been extraordinary. One would think that I'd be taking food photos at every meal. I can't explain it. Perhaps another time.

However, I couldn't leave tonight's restaurant without at least a couple of photos. First of all, I had homemade black fettuccini (blackened with the ink of squid) served with asparagus and red shrimp. Seriously, one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had!!

But wait - there's more! Dessert! First of all, this was a family-owned restaurant, run by a man and his wife. They were both utterly delightful. After we finished our main courses, the wife came to our table, placed down an empty paper placemat and started to draw a flower on it, explaining that it was the dessert menu. :) In each petal, she wrote the names of each dessert. She started with the Marscapone, and wrote the word "sex" underneath it. She said that that a customer once told her that their Marscapone was better than sex. ;) Eventually, she wrote "tiramisu" in a petal, and said it was one of the reasons why she married her husband - it was his Grandmother's recipe. :) With a description like that, I couldn't resist and ordered the tiramisu. It was indeed the best I've ever had!

To top off the evening, the husband came over after we had finished dessert and all three of our dessert drinks. He said he had a gift for me, and presented me with a burlap bag with a bottle of olive oil. (I had inquired about it earlier- it was do tasty- and learned it is from nearby Verona). So sweet! He also said he had a gift for Dick, and presented him with the bill. ;)

After dinner, we strolled around Venice a bit, and made our way to Piazza San Marco. I had just explained "The battle of the Orchestras" in Piazza San Marco to Dick this afternoon, and tonight he got to witness it firsthand.

I know it's kind of cheesy and touristy, but this city has a magical element about that I remember from my trip 16 years ago. Only this time, I'm finally here with the right person. ;)