Gondola, Non!

Breakfast is included in our hotel, so we went down for breakfast early... not a bad view, eh? The Coffee was very good.
Today was going to be our only full day in Venice, so we were determined to tear the city up! We consulted with the conseriage and asked for some tips... he suggested a walking tour of the city, and we were on our way. There are lots of tourist shops that sell Venetian glass, and masks. We think we are going to come back for Mardi gras, cause it's cold, and therefore, not as crowded.
We walked, saw more lovely churches, building being held up by other buildings, and of course, the gondolas... which made me smile, and made Mike say.. "Non... that's lame..."
*sigh*
At lunch we continued our quest to find great Italian food... NON!
We had some bellinis, and walked some more. It is a maze of wonderful places.
Does anyone know what this means?
We found a place off the beaten path that just looked like someone’s house. It was a restaurant, and there was a small English teacup collection in the "bar" and meatballs on the handwritten menu...We went in, and found a very crabby Italian woman, and her husband, who ran into the kitchen.
We ordered wine, and she brought over the SOFTEST bread ever, with a bowl of Bruchetta tomatoes.
We ordered some really lovely wine, and I ordered Lasagna, Mike ordered Meatballs. She said, "No. No meatballs."
Mike then held his butter knife to his heart to register his discontent... The woman ran off to the kitchen and began yelling at her husband for not making enough meatballs!
:-) This amused us.
Mike ordered Meat sauce, and I had caprice after my lasagna... which was delicious... different than ours... but delicious... maybe there IS good Italian food in Italy.
After dinner, we tried Spritzers as we watched the sunset... and Mike wished he'd had the camera, cause they don't taste at all like they look, and they are BITTER... BAH! I made a horrid face after my first sip.
Sorry Holly... me no like.
My souvenir for the trip was going to be a bottle of the booze to make spritzers... I changed my mind.
Mike went into a shop and bought a bottle of cold Champagne and 2 cups... When I asked what for, he said, "we have to drink something on our gondola ride!" Softie.
The Gondola ride was cool... he took us down some really cool "alleys" ... we even saw a rat :-)After the Gondola ride, we walked around some more, and found a fantastic vintage jewelry store, but since it was midnight... *sigh* it would have to wait for the next trip. We also found "Harry's Bar!" Which is the same one that's around the corner from Mike's Place... Cool!
We went to Saint Marks Square, and drank Bellini’s and listed to the outdoor concerts, while people kept trying to sell us roses... they kept bugging us, so we started speaking gibberish to them... they decided we were crazy & finally left us alone. The 4 piece playing was led by a crazy bald guy... he was wonderful. He played Stuff from Phantom, La Boehme, and some Vivaldi...
It was magical.
Went to bed at 3 :-)