It was our last day in Venice. We hadn't seen the inside of
Basilica di San Marco (The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark). How could we go home without doing so? Until the basilica opened at 9:30 am, we had enough time for breakfast. We went to the cafe of Ristorante Al Theatro again. I had cream filled croissant and J had a savory quiche.
After the breakfast, we went to Saint Mark's Basilica but it was still too early to enter the inside. There was another couple who were waiting for the open at the entrance. We chatted with them. They were very friendly and kindly gave us some recommendations about where to see in Venice as well as around Manchester where they came from.
After seeing the beautiful basilica, we visited the museum of
Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Castello area by following one of the couple's recommendations. The palace turned into a "House-Museum" and has "been open to visitors since 1869 telling by means of everyday life, traditional and cultural stories that reflect Venice’s lifetyle: a unique city in the world."
Our eyes were full with cultural experiences. It was time to fill our stomaches with the local cuisine.
Spaghetteria 6342 A Le Tole Pizzeria was our choice. We had passed by the place before and their handmade fresh pasta displayed at the window caught our eye, but they were close at that time. The spaghetteria was also in Castello area. So, why not?
I had spaghetti with baby squids, eggplant and mint. It was delicious! The spaghetti had a very good bite and its rough surface held sauce nicely. Baby squids were adorable and tasty! I thought the addition of eggplant and mint was interesting.
J had linguine (?) with saffron and prawns. I guess he enjoyed it very much.
After the happy lunch, we took a walk around Castello area. We ran into a miniature version of Saint Mark's Basilica made with chocolate at a local chocolate shop!
While we didn't buy any chocolate from the shop, we stopped by a pastry shop called
Pasticceria Italo Didovich. The
bar pasticceria has served traditional Venetian and Austro-Hungarian sweets there for more than 40 years. It was hard to pick just one out of various pastry choices. At the end we chose
cannolo sicillano. Yum!
We kept walking until it got dark. Our last dinner was pizza from Antico Forno
again! I had one with thick crust and J had one with thin crust this time.
It was a wonderful trip to see the magical water city with dozens of churches and museums as well as taste delicious local cuisines. I will definitely miss cream filled pastries for breakfast. Grazie e Arrivederci, Venice!
