Galley Gossip: Flight attendant vacation – Venice (Cannaregio)

by Heather Poole on

You’ve thought about going to Venice. Come on, admit it. Don’t deny it. Of course you immediately talked yourself out of it, considering you absolutely detest crowds and tourist traps. Yet Venice, you must admit, does look magical, like the kind of tourist trap you should see at least once in your life. But the problem is you can’t stand crowds and tourist traps. And that’s a problem. A very big problem.

For me, too!

When a flight attendant takes a vacation, the flight attendant will do everything possible to avoid anything that resembles a layover. Layovers equate to work. Yeah, I know, work ain’t so bad when you’re laying over someplace nice, but at the same time, laying over somewhere nice usually means you’re at a chain hotel surrounded by chain restaurants, not too far from the airport. Of course, life could be worse, I know. But when you’ve been doing the layover-chain-thing for thirteen years, it doesn’t matter where you are – New York, Paris, Rome – it all starts to look the same. Which is why a flight attendant looks for something different, someplace unusual, somewhere special, when it comes to a vacation – wherever that vacation may be.

When I went to Venice in May, I stayed in Cannaregio, otherwise known as the Jewish Ghetto. You don’t have to be Jewish to stay in the ghetto. And don’t let the word “ghetto” fool you, because this ghetto, is unlike any other ghetto. It’s amazing. And quiet. And tourist free. Okay fine, as tourist free as a tourist trap can be.
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I knew Cannaregio was the place for me when I read in Frommer’s Italy 2008 the following…
“It’s outer reaches are quiet, unspoiled, and residential (What high season tourist crowds, you may wonder?) One third of Venice’s ever shrinking population of 20,000 is said to live here…”
So where, exactly, did I stay in Cannaregio? See that picture on the right? That’s where. At the hotel Ai Mori D’Oriente, a small Turkish hotel located on a quiet canal, just a fifteen minute walk from the Rialto Bridge. Where did I eat? When we weren’t enjoying the complimentary breakfast of fresh fruit and salami and ham on a crusty roll at the hotel (the husband was in heaven), or the pizza, anywhere pizza could be found, which was pretty much everywhere, we’d go wherever Guido, the concierge at the hotel, suggested.
“You want something rustic, some place not too much money, someplace I’d go?” he asked, looking at my heavy travel book with disdain.
The husband and I nodded frantically, as I placed the 2008 edition of Frommer’s Italy back in my bag. It was a big bag.
Not once did one of Guido’s recommendations let us down. Especially the night we visited Osteria Ai 40 Ladroni (right down the street/canal from the hotel) where I found myself sitting at a candlelit table under the stars, beside a quiet canal, surrounded by other tourists looking for something not-so-touristy, immersed in a small plate of heaven – gnocchi with crab smothered in a delicate tomato sauce.
Did I just use the word delicate? I did. It was delish!
I don’t need to remind you that Cannaregio is in Venice, not too far from everything you ever wanted to avoid. Yet won’t. Because even that is a must see. But then, as soon as you’ve had enough (which won’t take long), it’s back to the ghetto for you, where all of the other tourists who don’t like tourists find themselves. On your brisk walk back to the hotel, make sure to run into a loaf of crusty bread, a bottle of olive oil, a hunk of cheese, and half a pound of salami at the local grocery store, the store where you see that little yappy dog staring intensely into the window. Trust me, this will be one of the best (and cheapest) meals you’ll ever experience. In your room. Away from the crowds. Don’t worry about all those calories, you’ve already burned them off walking from San Marco Square back to the peace and quiet. And yes, you really do need to experience Venice. At least once in your lifetime. For the gnocchi alone.

Minneapolis’s outdoor art experience

by Jamie Rhein on

Two summers ago we spent a few days in Minneapolis visiting friends, a visit several years after my first trip here. Both times it struck me how lovely the city is. Minneapolis is one of those gorgeous urban spots in the world that pays attention to how public and private space work together to create an environment everyone can enjoy.

The architecture in Minneapolis is a large part of its visual scene. Its buildings often end up winning awards for their design. Here are a sampling of what you’ll find of particular note. These are new buildings that were commissioned as a tribute to Minneapolis’s dedication to the arts: Children’s Theatre Company; Guthrie Theater, Central Library, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center and Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum.

All featured on the Meet Minneapolis Web site and are places you might consider putting on your itinerary. Here’s a link that leads to the descriptions. The Weisman Art Museum was designed by Frank Gehry thus is my particular favorite.

However, my favorite aspect of visual pleasure was when we spent an evening walking among the sculptures at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden outside the Walker Arts Center. This is an eclectic mix of styles set in among flower beds, a conservatory, an arbor and wide open spaces.

This year marks 20th year since the garden has been open. Jaunted tipped me off to the two artist designed mini-golf courses that have been added to the space as part of the celebration. It costs to play the courses but you can see them for free. The rest of the garden is free as well.

Here’s another opportunity for a public art feast, you can also tour the University of Minnesota’s campus where there is an extensive public art program. Tours are available from May and October. Here’s the link for that info.

Download your local Not for Tourists Guide online for free!

by Grant Martin on

I have mixed feelings about guidebooks, partially because I hate going to a super lovely secret destination and finding 300 other people there with the same guidebook, but have to admit, I am kind of fond of the Not For Tourists (NFT) guides that have been around for the past few years.

These guidebooks are a library of information, containing extremely detailed maps, overlaid with points of interest, restaurant and other juicy city tidbits — which is really where they get their name. Not every tourist wants to waste space on the details of the PetCo on the corner of 92nd and Broadway — they would rather learn about that awesome bistro in SoHo that Ed Norton was seen in once.

To each his or her own.

Fortunately, NFT recently started posting their guidebooks on their website free to download in PDF form. Now, you snark the articles and maps that you want, print them out and build your own frankenbook to take along on your journey.

So how do they make their money? Well, I guess they hope that you’ll like the online guides well enough to purchase one of their books. At least give the online version a try and see what you think.

A travel story when the traveler doesn’t have a clue

by Jamie Rhein on

My mother told me this traveler-doesn’t-have-a-clue story yesterday morning after I picked her up at the Greyhound bus station in Columbus, Ohio.

I posted about this yesterday, but I’m still shaking my head and wondering where the woman is today and what she has found to eat. Perhaps she’s in Missouri?

It has reminded me of other travel stories when there is nothing else to do but keep on keeping on–and hopefully, eventually, you’ll get to where you want to go. It’s also to make you feel better if you’ve ever made a travel mistake. I’ve made mistakes, but not quite like this.

Here is the recap:

“Where are you going?” My mother asked the woman who got on the bus in Newark, New Jersey.

“Los Angeles,” the woman said.

“My!” said my mother. “That’s far. When will you get there?”

“Tomorrow.” The woman, according to my mother, sounded confident.

“Tomorrow?!” my mother exclaimed.

Mind you, they are on the bus on the east coast. The U.S. hasn’t shrunk.

The woman nodded, still sure.

In Pittsburgh, the woman discovered the truth. She won’t arrive in Los Angeles until Saturday, I think sometime tomorrow night. It is a looooonnnnnng ride.

My mother said that the woman spoke with an accent , so perhaps she misunderstood the details, or she never asked for the details. I wonder if her ticket gave her an inkling that something was amiss? Regardless, she’s somewhere the middle of the U.S. by now and by tomorrow night she’ll be in L.A.

This reminds me a little bit of the problem when planning international travel that involves crossing the International Date Line. When we lived in Asia I always double checked to make sure I understood exactly what day it would be when I would arrive somewhere. Missing a day can wreck havoc on plans if you’re not careful.

Or there are the mistakes where you head east instead of west or the other way around. I know someone who was driving to Washington, D.C., from Columbus, but didn’t discover he had gone the wrong way until he hit Indiana or thereabouts. He had recently immigrated to the U.S. which added to his sign reading difficulties and reluctance to ask for directions.

A Summer project to celebrate where you live

by Jamie Rhein on

Using Matt Harding’s concept of dancing as a way to unify the world in his “Where the Hell is Matt?” videos, Jeff Hoskinson highlighted his home state, Iowa in a spoof of sorts.

He kind of looks like Matt, but he’s not Matt. Matt does appear in the video in the “Inspiration” by section. There is a handy reference guide in the YouTube description that lists everywhere featured in the video. As Hoskingson states, this was one way to have a reason to head to all the places he’s heard about since he was a kid.

If you can’t make it to EVERYWHERE in a state or a country, why not just pick your county or province? How about just your city, village or town? Pick a neat song and go for it. All you need is a camera and a person to film you. It’s doable. I’m not doing it yet–but you go for it and let me know if you’ve posted the results on YouTube. I’m enamored with the idea. Whatever you do, just keep dancing.

One thing this video does make me cognizant of is Iowa’s flooding problems. I wonder which of these sites were affected and wish the good folks in Iowa well.