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The breakfast of champions, some tomatoes and crisps from the local Carrefour supermarket.

In the background is the Rialto Bridge which might look serenely permanent today, but this crossing has had some sub-optimal times over the centuries. The first crossing here was a twelfth century pontoon bridge which, being essentially a glorified floating raft, was never going to win prizes for stability. Its wooden successor of 1255 did a little better until 1310 when it collapsed during Bajamonte Tiepolo’s revolt, which must have been a lively afternoon. A later version soldiered on until 1444 when it gave up entirely under the weight of spectators watching the wedding procession of the Marquis of Ferrara, so I suppose that could be defined as memorable and then fire then damaged it in 1514 because Venice likes to keep things interesting.

After all that melodrama, the city perhaps rather sensibly approved Antonio da Ponte’s stone design, completed in 1591, and it has stubbornly refused to fall down ever since, as if determined to prove it can behave like a proper bridge. It’s got shops on both sides of it today and it has become the major bridge in the city and something of a tourist destination. Although there are no benches around here, so don’t come here expecting to eat tomatoes.

I didn’t have that long in Venice, it was a morning rail journey to my next destination of Trieste, but here’s some photos of that little morning meander.

After posting some photos on Facebook, I was fortunate that Ian (the one that’s important in CAMRA) noticed my post and commented that there was a craft beer bar in Venice. I had managed to miss this, so I embarked on a thirty minute walk to find it.

Now, this looks rather lovely, a joy to behold in Italy.

I had just eaten pizza, but they had some snacks available here.

It wasn’t that big a venue, but it seemed easy to just sit at the bar. The service was friendly and personable, so the environment felt welcoming. There was a variety of Italian and international beers, with a range of styles covered and a strong presence of Belgian beers.

My first beer was the Mary Hoppins from Il Santo Bevitore, an Italian brewer. It was a decent beer, being hazy, hoppy, floral and quite fluffy.

My second beer was Sour #1 from Evoqe Brewing and it’s a delight to see an Italian sour. Punchy lemon was the main element, but there was other fruitiness going on there. It was balanced and like a decadent Hooch, as if Hooch isn’t decadent enough….

This bar is certainly one that deserves to be supported, it’s on-trend, modern, welcoming and has a well curated selection of different beers available. The prices were moderate and there was food for those who needed some snacks whilst working through the beer options.

I’m not sure that it’s the most exciting name for a pizzeria and perhaps it doesn’t look overly decadent from the outside, but it’s very well reviewed online and it seemed a good option for my evening meal. It’s handy being in Italy as I can get pizza and it is then evident that I’m eating the local food, a bit of cultural immersion and all that.

The menu board and there are pizzas sold by the slice, or greedy people such as myself can just buy a whole one. The service here was friendly and engaging, with a number of customers passing through so they seemed popular.

I ordered the diavolo pizza and then thought that I might as well get a beer with it. Firstly, the beer was a Ceres Strong Ale which was malty and robust. Secondly, the main event, the pizza which was light and fluffy, with plenty of toppings and a depth of flavour. It felt simple, which is how I think pizzas should be.

There was a small area inside to eat-in, which seemed the most appropriate to me. The restaurant was clean and tidy, with the atmosphere feeling inviting and welcoming. All really rather lovely and definitely recommended. Unfussy food, I like that and the price was moderate for the centre of Venice, the beer and pizza cost just over £10 which I thought was very reasonable.

As I haven’t been to Venice before, I thought I’d have a meander around as well as visiting a craft beer bar and a pizzeria, but more of those separately. That means that I can surprise and delight my two blog readers with some photos of Venice in the evening, although I accept that there are probably quite a few of these on the Internet already….

Incidentally, it’s rather lovely to be somewhere that doesn’t have cars everywhere….