Accademia Bed and Breakfast
While in Venice we stayed at the Accademia Bed and Breakfast, whose entrance is about 30 meters from the Accademia Galleries. In the photo above, the white building is the Accademia Gallery, while the building covered in ivy is the bed and breakfast. This photo was taken from the Accademia Bridge, one of two bridges spanning the Grand Canal. The bridge is the entryway to Dorsoduro, the southernmost region of Venice.
There
are a number of reasons why Accademia Bed and Breakfast proved
to be a wonderful place to stay while in Venice. First, it is
easy to get to, as the vaporetto or water taxi stops at the
quay in the front of the square, shown in the photo above.
Secondly, Dorsoduro is away from the maddening crowds of
Piazza San Marco, and just a few minutes walk to very
reasonably-priced restaurants around the Campo Santa
Margherita Area. The square below the room bustled with
activity, from singing gondoliers to visiting choirs. The
photo to the left shows a view of our hotel from the square.
And finally, there is the bed and breakfast itself. Access to the bed
and breakfast is from a side street just behind the cafe. You
enter through a wrought iron set of gates leading to the Grand
Canal. (photo to the right). The inside is beautifully
finished. After passing through and entryway (photo lower
left) and ascending the stairs, guests arrive at the main
desk, manned by Lucca. Not only is he a gracious host (catering to our needs and sending us a bottle of
sparkling red wine from Venice), but he knows where to direct
you for meals or sight-seeing. The bed and breakfast is a bit
of a labyrinth. The entrance
is on the first floor, but there
did not seem to be any rooms on that level. The second level
seemed to have 4 or 5 rooms, plus the manager's apartment. It
also featured a pretty sitting room that led to a terrace
balcony, 
where
we enjoyed a continental
breakfast every morning. Guests were interesting people
from Asia, Canada, and the
U.K. The remainder of the rooms (including ours) were on the
third floor. It is a bit of a climb
with bags (Lucca graciously assisted us when we
arrived and when we departed), but the views more that make up
for all that lugging.
Our room was on the third
floor, overlooking the Accademia's plaza. It was a very
spacious room with hardwood floors. It featured a queen-size
bed with matching night stands and lamps, a beautiful writing
desk, and two cushioned chairs. The windows looked out over
the Grand Canal and the Accademia Galleries, respectively. The
windows let in a great deal of air (the room was not
air-conditioned) and light, but they could be shuttered and
hidden behind curtains for sleeping and privacy. The room
boasted a huge walk-in closet, and this was the first time in
my memory that we have stayed anywhere that had enough drawers
to stow all of our clothing and bags. The walls were light,
and the room had excellent cross-ventilation. It was the
perfect place to put up your feet between sight-seeing jaunts
and gently be lulled to sleep by music from the plaza below .
. .
After
the cramped confines of Rome, the size of the room was a
welcome relief, and the bathroom was a total surprise. Done in
blue and white tile, it had a full size tub, a large mirror,
bidet, and separate toilet. I believe that bathroom alone was
bigger than our considerably more expensive cell in Rome. And
one could not argue with the views from out room. The photo to
the left is a shot of the bathroom, but only shows about half
of the total area--we are talking BIG bathroom here. The photo
to the right shows the view of the Accademia Bridge and the
Grand Canal from our side window. Unbelievable! And, although
we were located at the southern section of Venice, it was less
than a 10 minute walk over the bridge to Piazza San Marco,
while most of the other churches and galleries were even
closer. It was picture perfect!