Questions from our Readers

How big is Venice?

Image the heart of tourist Paris - Ile St. Louis to Arc de Triomphe, Luxembourg Gardens to the Opera. Then shrink it to 3/5 size. That's what it feels like. To walk all the way from Piazzale Roma to the end of the Biennale Garden would be an hour, I think, but most here-to-there distances are more likely to be 15 to 20 minutes.

How's the apartment?

Dark, but fine, considering the cost. We have two rooms -- a perfectly adequate bedroom with a queen and a twin bed and bookcase, dresser, etc, and a slightly smaller kitchen with a fair-sized round table. A small shot-gun bathroom with a compact shower and sink in one portion, toilet and bidet in another, and washing machine tucked in the back. Considering it was 650 euros for ten days, or about $100 a day, we can't complain.

How's the area?

We're 90 seconds from the traghetto across the Grand Canal to the Ca' D'Oro, 4 minutes from the Rialto Mercato vaporetto stop, 7 minutes from the Rialto Bridge and about 15 from San Marco. We've never had to walk more than 20 minutes to get anywhere. The Rialto Market is 3 minutes from us, and the area has a nice little neighborhood feel. Cafes, food markets, souvenir shops, etc.

How are the prices?

In euros, things aren't that bad. A 7-day pass on the vaporetto for both of us was 110 euros, and that was our biggest single expense. A pizza and a bottle of water is about 10 euros. A plate of pasta is 8 euros to 12 euros, a nice veal milanese was 14 euros. Churches are 3 or 4 euros; the Accademia was 8 or 9. Annie's rainboots were 40 euros. Our gondola ride was 100 euros, but that was 45 minutes for 6 people. Opera tickets in the last row were 45 euros. At $1.60 to the euro you can make your own calculations, but it's not excruciatingly expensive. And we can't really blame the Italians for us ruining the value of the dollar, can we?

How's the food?

It's OK to good. With Annie, we tend to prefer fast and sample. Nothing's been out of this world, but there's nothing that hasn't been good. Nothing complicated, and not a lot of vegetables. Small-ish portions, but not stingy. Venice is in the butter/cream belt of Italy. Not a lot of olive oil, no garlic that I've noticed. We haven't had any traditional Venetian food, as far as I've noticed.

There's great simple food to cook at home -- last night I boiled up some absolutely delicious tortellini with bottled pesto and it was yummy. The eggs are incredible. I made five-minute eggs for breakfast and they were a revelation. Thin-shelled and full of flavor. They made U.S. eggs seem industrial. Butter is great, even store-bought bread is good. And you can't beat the Nutella!

How are you and Annie getting along?

Anne Packard is the most agreeable child in existence. She has yet to ask me to buy her anything and she has a great get-along, go-along attitude. She's all eyes for the scenery and has enjoyed everything from museums to our outings on the Lido. She was an angel in the opera. Considering we've walked miles each day, she's never once draggedher feet. She's been getting about 12 hours of sleep a night, though -- it does wear her out.

Believe it or not, last night was the first tears of the trip, and I think it was partly fatigue, an partly her sense of the dramatic.

She's said some fascinating things. She wanted to now what the "native Venetians" were called. When I told her "Venetians" she asked again. It turns out she meant "native Venetians" like "Native Americans." Interesting to see how her mind works.

She also said she missed singing -- she has choir practice several times a week and "performance" on Sunday. But she sings along to herself all the time.

She's picking up Italian and has been very liberal with her "grazie" "prego" and "buon giorno" lately.

What do you miss?

I'd love to have a bagel and I'm looking forward to a sushi dinner. Other than that, I can't say we miss much. Hilary/Barak/John? Taxis, traffic, subways and buses? Work? The DJIA? The NYT? I'm sure they'll all be waiting for us when we get back.

Of course, we miss all of you desperately and wish you were here with us to enjoy our adventure!