We decided to go on another Globe and Mail cruise because we enjoyed the last one so very much. It was slated to start in Venice, a city that we have visited two other times. We booked a tour guide to show us parts we hadn’t seen before, and planned to stay in an old hotel that was very small, but wonderfully located on the Grand Canal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canal_(Venice) We were very young in our marriage and young in age when we went to Venice the first time. Gondola rides, long walks to the famous squares and we were enticed to take a boat trip to Murano, https://www.originalmuranoglass.com where they make the famous glass. We considered ourselves very sophisticated and not susceptible to scams. The boat ride was delightful, and the visit to the factory interesting. Somehow we were convinced to purchase some glass. We decided on drinking glasses for our table back home. We struck a deal, and were promised delivery of our glasses to Canada. Well the glasses did arrive, but they were nothing like what we ordered. To add insult to deception, we ate at a very simple Toronto restaurant and there were our new glasses. They must have been a stock item. We laughed and laughed. I know we don’t have a single glass left.

View from our window one night. Charles took this amazing photo.

The second trip was to celebrate one of my sister’s birthdays, about 19 years ago. Carol is fantastic at planning events and this one was incredible. We all stayed at a charming hotel, she had lunches booked, and a fabulous birthday dinner on an island, champagne and appetizers, trips to galleries and the Jewish Quarter. It was indeed super special. One of my memories was walking in and out of the small streets. I noticed people following me. I certainly must have looked like I knew where I was going. It ended in a cul de sac. And I chuckled, Charles well maybe a little. I still get lost, and actually kind of like that.

So this was an encore. trip. I booked this small hotel called Al Ponte Anticohttps://www.alponteantico.com/#/. Now I just chose it as I always choose hotels; on the internet. I read reviews, look at pictures, check the prices and I do this way in advance so there would be a choice of rooms. I also entered into a correspondence with the owner, who was charming , and concerned about us as there was a hurricane in Florida where we were at the time. However, when we approached the date I started to worry because it wasn’t one of the hotels and the rest of the Globe group were staying elsewhere. I booked a ride from the airport that combined road travel with boat travel as the hotel was on the Grand Canal. It was a sunny, warm end of June day. The private water taxi ride was excellent, a preview of all the sites from the water that were so famous, and we arrived at the dock of the hotel. The hotel staff member helped us off the boat and escorted us in, where we were met by a stunning gentleman who gave us a tour of the hotel and told us our room was ready. Yes! My favourite travel words. The place was all small hallways, corners, book shelves and our room was quite grand with a window in a sort of lounge that opened on the famous canal. The boats were almost touching us. Tiny , quirky, but very doable bathroom, and a drink at the bar on the next floor up, sitting outside and looking at the Rialto Bridge was the whipped cream topping on our morning.

in the charming bar area

breakfast buffet at antico

reading by the window as a gondola floats by

on the petite terrace and other hotel views

We soon headed out for lunch and found a trattoria with fresh, delicious mussels, then back to the hotel for a nap to start our catch up on the time change. I always book restaurants, particularly in tourist season, months ahead. This time, way after I had booked, I checked with Tara O’Brady https://www.taraobrady.com, who is the wonderful food journalist we met on our last Globe trip, and she was to be on this one. Amazingly, the restaurants I chose were on her list. They were terrific. The first, L’osteria di Santa Marina https://osteriadisantamarina.com/en/ was in a square that we could walk to from the hotel. And there were two couples that we had met the previous year, sitting at a table nearby. We sat alone though, and had a simply delicious meal outside. Ceviche, a cold spaghetti with prawns and fish roe were were featured on our tasting menu.

yummy mussels

and the artichoke bottoms

The next morning we had breakfast with fresh squeezed orange juice, marvellous pastries and coffee for Charles from a gigantic espresso machine, on the tiny terrace over the canal. Our tour guide, Ermanno booked us for 8:30 am so we would miss the crowds, and we did. If you haven’t seen crowds on small sidewalks in Venice in the summer, you can’t imagine how tight walking is. We toured the fresh market with him, got the history of the Rialto bridge. and learned that there are 416 bridges and 104 churches, among many other Venetian details. We had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. How novel, you must be thinking. But that was a scrumptious dish, and a perfect set up for our daily nap. Dinner was at Antiche Carampane, a totally charming restaurant with many small mirrors on the walls, much like those in our dear friends’ home in Dunedin. Coralee is a collector so I took a picture for her to see where we were. Carpaccio, scampi, spider crab salad comprised our dinner. And because I saw giant artichokes in the market, I ordered a dish of bottoms, artichoke that is.

mirrors on the wall

It rained at night with much lightning which was spectacular to experience with the canal so close. We hung out at the hotel and relaxed, avoiding the Saturday morning crowds. In the afternoon, we were to check in at the ship. We took a water taxi from our hotel to the dock. We arrived at the Emerald Azzura. I will tell you about our continuing adventures on the Globe trip in my next blog.

Below are many of my favourite images of Venice sigh…including our tour guide, Ermanno, a church where I lit a candle for Carrie, and a very old phone in our hotel room.

I often reflect on age, growing older specifically, which no matter how you try, you can’t avoid it. But you can face it and hopefully enjoy the different chapters of your lives. The toughest thing is the body, which just keeps changing. Conversations at dinner often include, medications, exercise, diet, aches and pains, replacements, botox, energy, naps, vaccines, viagra, vitamins, surgeries, assisted living, seniors homes, care givers, deaths of friends and loved ones, and more. Our health is what really counts as we age, and of course the comfort level of money. No matter how you look at it, money is important. Those trips that we put off in our early thirties, forties, and fifties , are now possible because we have the time, but we also need to have the resources. When I write about our trips you may have noticed that we travel at a pretty first class level. However, when we are travelling I often think if we could do this in a less expensive way. The answer is a resounding yes. There are many options in accommodation, from B&B’s to Air B&B’s. Off season hotel rooms are cheaper, and the placement of the room, view or no view means a lot in terms of dollars. You can travel in economy on the plane and book your flights and seats early, to get the best location, take airport buses, take group tours rather than private ones, and eat in local cafés rather than premium restaurants that carry a premium price tag. There are many options, but there are no options when it comes to health.

We are lucky in Canada that our health care is covered by the government, so that everyone has access. However, it is also lucky to have good health. Some things are not preventable. Charles had throat cancer. Thank goodness he is recovered. I have Menières disease. Some of these diseases are hereditary. Some are curable, treatable or manageable. Some are just bad luck. As you know I lost my beautiful daughter Carrie many years ago, and that was definitely bad luck. I hear almost every day of young people with cancer, and read the obits in our paper, as I am always curious about the causes of death of those who are still in the middle years of their lives. I shed many tears. We are told that exercise and diet are important as we age, but according to one study social contact counts above all. Loneliness is one of the worst illnesses.

Now you may not have heard about Menières, so I will tell you about my summer experience with my crazy disease which includes bouts of extreme dizziness. I have had it for fifteen years, but this August it loomed big with massive bouts of vertigo. I visualized lots of cancelled events, and trips, and much time in bed. I did spend some time in bed, and of course cancelled many activities. Because I like to try to always make things positive, I searched on google for more up to date info, as I really hadn’t checked it out for many years. I found a doctor here in Toronto who specializes in ear and balance. I am under his care now, and already taking a new medecine, new for me that is, and will try other alternatives. I am telling you this because you may be experiencing some maladies, or just aches and pains, and a reduction of activities. Never give up. Keep searching for options. This getting older, is not for the ‘faint of heart’.

So I am thinking a great deal about these things as I approach a momentous birthday. I am grateful for every sunny day and also the rainy ones, good for reading and writing, and the garden. I am also thankful for great friends and my wonderful small family. I hope you don’t mind that I have shared these thoughts with you. Somehow they may be translatable to your lives and be helpful.

I look forward to telling you more about our Globe trip, some other activities in the arts that I enjoyed this summer, and best of all a wonderful five day trip to Rekjavik.

‘Till the next one,

As always,

Riki