Training Log Archive: Charlie

Jogging around part of my course from yesterday with Rhonda, correcting some errors and making some others. Across Accademia for 8-12 and 1-5, then back across Rialto for 6 and 7. Yesterday when I approached Dei Frari I was not looking at my map. Pretty obvious now what was going on.

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Walking around. Through Santa Margerita over to the bus station and train station, where we renewed our vaporetto passes, then through Campo San Geremia and across the Canale Cannaregio with a side trip to Campo San Marcuola and scouting the entrance to the Casino for later. Then a long stroll down Strada Nova, ending up at Campo Santa Marina and a stop for coffee, wine and a spinach tart at Pasticceria Vidovich across from the Hotel Santa Marina. On to Campo SS. Giovanni e Paolo, stopping to make a dinner reservation at Alla Staffa near the bridge. Then S to San Zaccaria where we just missed the #1, and rather than wait 10 minutes for the next one, we walked back past Piazza San Marco, and through the campos San Moise, Santa Maria Zobeniga, San Maurizio, San Stefano and San Vidal to Accademia and back home.

Next excursion. Boat ride to San Marco, wandered around in the Correr Museum and the Archaeological museum, including lots of paintings of Doges, recovered and broken sculptures, implements of war and other general killing. Then a stroll over to San Angelo, where we just missed the #1, and so we walked through the western part of San Marco back to the bridge. Followed by a nap.

Off to dinner. We resolved to take the first boat in either direction from Accademia, only to arrive just as both of them left. So we walked across the bridge and up through San Stefano, San Anzolo, Manin and San Luca. Then San Bartolo, with Rialto on our left and through Santa Marina to SS. Giovanni e Paolo and to the restaurant Alla Staffa on Calle Ospedale. It was just excellent. We had been meaning to go there, but hadn't taken the trouble to get a reservation before today.

Then we strolled west toward the Casino, hitting a few dead ends along the way because it was too dark to read the map very well, so I just kept it in my pocket. The Casino is pretty high security. They wouldn't let Rhonda in because she had left her passport and drivers license at the apartment. She waited below while I went with Jess and Kyle up to the tavoli da gioco.

It only took me a minute to see all I needed. R&I took the boat home from San Marcuola, leaving the young folks to the night life.

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Event: Venice Street Race
 

Venice Street O. Nominal distance was 5.3 k. 29th place in M60 out of 104 and generally a pretty good race. Not as physically tiring as yesterday, but much more complex navigation and I still got tired, slowing down a fair amount in the last 1/4 of the race. I lost time on 4 controls. Two inferior routes, one because I didn't see the street covered by the red line, and so went a long way around, and one where I took a longer route to avoid a short stretch of the crowded streets marked in brown on the map. I also lost more time on #7 in Campo Dei Frari, where we had dinner last night. A bit over confident I assumed the control was at the corner of the church when it was really at the next building over. When I finally found it I was still confused and left the wrong direction running down a couple of dead ends before I got straightened out and on my way.

The highlights of the course were control #6, in the courtyard in front of Barb's apartment, and running on the street next to our apartment on the way from #7 to the Accademia Bridge.

Tony Carlyle was 5 minutes ahead of me in 12th place. I'll post the map later, probably after I get home and have access to a better computer and a better scanner.

Rhonda, Jessica and Kyle did the Open K course at a walk, but did very well.

I certainly need to think about physical training for next year. Got to go faster.

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After a shower and a snack, out on the #1 to Lido, which was not so interesting, and then on the #51 and #41 to Murano, where Jess was shopping for glass gewgaws. A bottle of wine in a bar on Murano, then a boat ride back to Fondamente Nove and a walk toward Rialto, and another boat ride from Rialto to Ca Rezzonico and home.

One more excursion, just for dinner at Oniga in Campo San Barnaba, a place we had tried to go several times, but either they were not open, or they were full. This time we hit it right and got right in. Ok, but not as good as we had built it up to be. I had sardines with onions and white polenta, and then spaghetti alle vongole. Nice enough.

Very pleasant breakfast party at our place this morning. It was fun to be looking out the window and see the orienteers studying their maps. Except Barb. She approached with a good head of steam on map memory all the way from the last turn. First to arrive Wendy and Tony Carlyle, then Beatrice and Urs, then Bryant/Yee family. Good food, nice company. Beatrice brought some extra maps and some wisdom from prior years.

Then after the party was over, I got dressed and headed over for parkO, arriving a bit before 1230 - way too early, and too much time for warming up and hanging around, since my start was not until 202, and the walk to the start was - nothing. I saw Barb, Dave and the kids just before I went out, and Dick and Nancy Neuberger. After the race and downloading, not much to do, so I hopped on a boat back to Accademia, showered, and met Rhonda, Jessica and Kyle for lunch at San Pantalon. I was surprised by how much more tiring this was than the rather gentle runs Rhonda and I have been doing the last few days. Met some nice people on the boat from Geneva. This was the first they had seen orienteering and they had a lot of questions.

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C • Brunetti Recipes 1

Venice Park O race, class MM3. Good run with only one mistake, where I left #2 along the butterfly line to #15, until I checked the number and then had to look for #3. Surprised by how tiring this was, and by the people zooming by. Beautiful day and a lot of fun. Nominal distance 4.3 K

Out looking for dinner. Everyplace was full around San Barnaba, at least until 10pm. We wandered for a while, finally finding a nice Greek place near Campo Dei Frari. Gelato on the way home. There had been talk of holding out for gelato at Nico's at Zattere, but we went for the first place we came to.

Another map run, this time with a real map - Giovanni's 2009 map borrowed from Barb. Much, much nicer and more legible than the muddy inkjet print of a questionable scan at a questionable scale that I have been using. Still tricky. It is interesting to see how slowly I am going in terms of HR, even when I am going on straightaways.

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Another tramping expedition. This time we started with a vaporetto ride from Ca' Rezzonico up the Grand Canal to San Marcuolo. Then we went on foot north to Campo Ghetto Nuovo, and then down Fondamenta da Misericordia until we dropped down onto the wider Strada Nova and into Campo SS. Apostoli. Then I lost attention for a while and found myself in Campo San Marina, so back on the right track. Through the larger Campo Maria Formosa and past the Questura to the Crazy Bar, where we had a coffee and a glass of wine and got out of the wind. We were traveling with Giovanni's 2009 o-map, which is a fine way to get around. Into the really thick crowds at Piazza San Marco. Good advice for street orienteers: avoid PSM if possible. We checked a control site in the Giardini Reale, and then headed home via Ponte Accademia and Zattere to await Jessica's arrival by waterbus.

Another shorter excursion, this time with Rhonda, Jessica and Kyle. A little shopping at a farmacia, and then to Pantagruelica for bread cheese and olives, a stop at the wine bar for snacks and vin Novello, and then a walk over Accademia to St Mark's to get vaporetto tickets for the youngsters and then ride back from San Zaccaria to Ca' Rezzonico. Finally out to dinner and then gelato.

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Morning run on map with Rhonda. More of a yellow course this time, stitching the campos together and following the larger straighter routes when possible, instead of the intricate stuff we tried yesterday, so we were moving faster. Over Accademia through Campos San Stefano, San Anzolo, Manin and San Luca, then took a right and got a little loose heading to Piazza San Marco, but that is hard to miss. Through the Piazza, damp, but no standing water. And again a little loose, but fairly direct to Rialto and across. Then we followed the main route SW, helped a bit by the Piazzale Roma signs and went through Campos San Aponal, San Polo and San Toma, passing near Ponte Foscari, but continuing on to San Pantalon and over the bridge to Santa Margherita. over the bridge near Ospedale Giustinian, and then home via Calle de Frati.

Running didn't bother me at all. Fewer bridges than yesterday, which helps my knee, although we went over both of the big ones today.

Another day of tramping around. Grocery shopping at Billa at San Basilio, then bread, cheese and olive shopping at Pantagruelica in San Barnaba. Then we took a vaporetto from Ca' Rezzonico to Arsenale and walked down Via Giuseppe Garibaldi and to the public Garden, eventually winding our way back to Arsenale, where we took the #1 vaporetto back to Giglio, and took a walk via San Stefano to the pigment shop Mary Jo was interested in. We went back over Accademia and to Santa Margherita, for a prosciutto e porcini pizza. Then we took the #2 from Zattere to Palanca and looked around Giudeca, which wasn't as interesting. We came back from Zitelle to Zattere, then walked across Accademia through the campos to Rialto to look at some neighborhoods in San Polo and try to find a flower shop, that it seems has moved. Then home for a rest, just as they are setting up outside our window for an evening of filming a tv commercial. Lots of equipment. Pretty interesting.

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We walked over to San Croce to have dessert with Barb, Dave, Izzy and David. Much swapping of notes on how to approach the streetO. Then we hoofed it back to see the filming continuing to set up. Pretty pleased that we made it all the way back without needing the map. At least a dozen guys in Santa suits, but looking more like Pirates of the Caribbean extras. Smoke, lights, lots of equipment, including a huge crane-like boom with a camera, that traveled on rails, zooming back and forth. Surprisingly little apparent progress, and it may be that no actual filming takes place until after we retire for the night.

Morning jog on an old o-map. Went well in Dorsoduro and Santa Croce, but the map got more intricate near Rialto, and it became harder to concentrate. Eventually gave up on trying to find controls, and headed for Campo San Polo, and we know the way back from there, crossing the Ponte Foscari at the University, going through our favorite campiello, Squelini, into San Barnaba and home. Colors on the map I have are a little muddy. A real map will be better. But it was an instructive experience. There may be some walking in the intricate areas around Rialto, for example, or in San Marco.

Much more tramping around. From home to ca' Rezzonico museum of 18th century art and life at the top. And thence through San Barnaba over Ponte Foscari, stopping by Tonolo to see that it opens at 745, good to know. Then finding out what the big tower is that we could see from a distance: it is on the Basilica at Dei Frari. Following the o-map past Ponte Scalzi and Ferrovia and into Cannaregio. Lots of shops, not very interesting, particularly on Nuova Strada. Very quiet a block or so away in the residential parts. On to Fondamente Nuove, where we picked up the #12 vaporetto for Murano. Walked around a bit, had a coffee at a bar, went to the glass museum. Then another vaporetto, this time the 42, all the way around to San Zaccaria. By now my knee is throbbing, foot a bit sore, and left hip starting to protest. So we took the 2 to Giudeca and thence to Zattere, stopping at our wine bar Vini Bottegon for two glasses of prosecco and some tramezzini. Then home to relax a bit and have some ibuprofen.

After an afternoon nap, we strolled into San Polo and Santa Croce waiting for restaurants to open, which seems to happen around 7. Dinner near San Pantalon, pasta with scallops and porcini, with a complimentary glass of limoncello at the end. Gelato on the way back in Campo Santa Margherita, noccioli e pistacchio.

A fine day traveling around Venice. We started with a walk around Dorsoduro out to Salute, then over Accademia to San Marco. Sprinkling off and on and using umbrellas. High tide around 10am so watching where we step, and staying out of Piazza San Marco, which was pretty wet. Then we went into Castello a bit, up to Ss Giovanni e Paolo and into Cannareggio. Then across Rialto bridge to the fish and vegetable market. Very cool. Worked our way through San Polo, stopping at il Tonolo for caffe latte and brioche. Very civilized. Back through Santa Margherita and San Barnaba, where we stopped at Pangruelica for some very fine and expensive goat cheese and a loaf of really good bread. Home for bread and cheese.

Next excursion was over to the train station to pick up our vaporetto passes, trying them out on a ride down the Grand Canal to Accademia. A side trip to get wine. Then one more trip out, this time to Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio and a visit by the apartment Barb will be renting. Home again, then out for dinner - fabulous pasta in Campo Santa Margherita. Two scoops of gelato on the way home. One caffe, one cioccolata. Caffee was better.

Now waiting for my bag to show up. There have been a lot of stories about when they would deliver it, and it is getting pretty frustrating. It will be good to have a change of clothes, and to have some sneakers and shorts to go running.

We love Venice.

And we love it even more now that my bag has shown up (9:30 pm)!

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C • La Dolce Far Niente! 2