The next instalment of The Year of the City Break was a long late-May weekend in Venice.
We flew in from our separate directions without a cloud in the sky, with the city laid out like a painting below.
 |  |
Knowing that the weather wasn't going to be on our side for much longer, we made the most of the evening sun and hopped in an open-top water taxi from the airport to the city.
We meandered our way through the little canals, past crumbling buildings, before bursting out into the mayhem of the grand canal, where we hopped out opposite Santa Maria della Salute.
 |  |
Recommended to us by a friend, the Hotel Flora is tucked away down a tiny alley, hidden from passers-by. It's a stunning 17th-century palazzo, with a courtyard garden draped in ivy and climbing roses, perfect for an afternoon Bellini.
 |  |
That evening we explored the streets in search of Aperol spritzes and arancini, and stumbled across Piazza San Marco, rather beautifully and surreally submerged under a foot of water.
 |  |
The next day the heavens broke, the rain came down and the water level rose, so we cancelled our lunch reservation in the garden of the famous Locanda Cipriani (it'll still be there next time), and curled up in the warmth of tiny La Cantina in Cannaregio, one of Venice's best bácari (cicheti bars).
It's famous for its fish, cooked and raw, with a tray of oysters ready on the bar to be shucked to order. Looking at our hungry and indecisive faces, the barmaid brought us an obscene plateful of everything they had, a fishy feast.
 |  |
Just as we felt we were able to move again, the sun came out. We strolled along the backwaters of Cannaregio, away from the main tourist drag, and installed ourselves in a tiny wine bar on Fondamenta Ormesini for the afternoon, to watch the boats and people go past.
 |  |
The next day, the sun was back for good.
 |  |
 |  |
The terrace of the Hotel Monaco has one of the best views for lunch in the city, and the best seafood tagliolini to go with it.
 |  |
On another tip from a friend, that evening we tiptoed through the floodwaters to see Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at Musica a Palazzo, opera's equivalent of a secret supper club.
With around 80 people in the audience and just four singers accompanied by a piano and three strings, it's beautifully intimate. The opera takes place in the rooms of a fading, once-opulent palazzo, with the audience following the performers from room to room with each act, champagne glasses in hand.
 |  |
Grazie Venezia, we'll be back soon.
