Venice, Italy.
Considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world it is also one of the more geographically unique. Made up of over 100 islands at the northern tip of the Adriatic Sea, the city of Venice is connected to the mainland by a single, four lane bridge called Ponte della Libertà (The Freedom Bridge).
Anyone that has ever visited the Outer Banks in North Carolina will have a good idea of what this area is like. Except that, instead of randomly placed and colored vacation homes being the main architecture, centuries-old half-submerged buildings that are built on top of now-petrified wood piles that were cut from forests in Slovenia are the main stay.
You have two options for transportation in the city of Venice. By foot or by water. Venice is almost entirely “car-less”. The most famous form of transportation in Venice is the romantic gondola. Although it is said that now most Venetians travel by water-bus.
I have never been to Venice. I see news of their yearly flooding come up from time-to-time and there are fantastic photos from this past year’s Adriatic tide. And I’ve done a little bit of research through the power of Wikipedia for when I do travel there.
Figs.
In some lands figs are considered objects of worship. In others, no more than bat food. The oldest living plant, with a known planting date, is a Ficus tree (fig tree). It was planted in Sri Lanka by King Tissa in 288 BC. Side note: An upcoming fifth season episode of No Reservations will be in Sri Lanka, though I doubt this fig tree will be mentioned. Bummer.
According to The Worlds Healthiest Foods a fig’s unique taste are “lusciously sweet with a texture that combines the chewiness of their flesh, the smoothness of their skin, and the crunchiness of their seeds”. Oh, and they are also a very healthy food.
I have never had a fig. I’ve always wanted to but for the life of me I can not remember ever having one. Jotting it down on my to do list now.
So that is why I’m excited for tonight’s episode of No Reservations from Venice, Italy. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the unique geographic traits of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as well as learning more about the unique tastes of figs.
I was about to say “I hope he tries cuttlefish” before watching the video, but it appears he tries some form of it. When I was in Venice a couple years back with my family, my mom ordered cuttlefish, having read quickly in some guidebook that it was a local specialty. When the waiter came out with her dish, it was chunks of fish in a pitch black sauce. My mom tried it, and her tongue was completely black. Afterwards we learned that the black sauce was in fact the ink from the fish (it’s related to squid, somehow, I think). Definitely one of worst looking meals I’ve ever seen
Kyle: According to his blog post about this episode, he definitely tries cuttlefish. I think he also has cuttlefish roe. But more importantly, did your Mom like it?
She said the flavor was alright, but it was hard to get past the idea of eating something that color. I don’t think she’d order it again.