Venice and Edipo Re

EXPECT THE WORLD

JUNE | JULY 2019

13 Reasons Cruising Never Looked So Cool Floating bars Venice by vintage yacht Surfing tours summer fun on Cape Cod

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OUR ON THE WATER ISSUE

Contents

THE NEW WAVE Thirteen experiences you didn’t know you could have on a cruise.

J U N E | J U LY 2 0 1 9

62 A FLOATING FEAST The perfect recipe for an epicurean cruise in Central America.

11 COMPASS 12 Check-In 14 Bon Voyage 16 On Tour 18 Postcard Travel Intel (COVER) PAUL GAUGUIN CRUISES, (EDIPO RE) TYSON SADLO (CHILDREN) ERIK RANK/GETTY IMAGES

19 On the Fly 20 Art & Culture 22 Page-Turners Tech Support

24 Bar Code 25 Table Talk 26 Goods & Gadgets 28 TRAVEL TWO WAYS British Columbia: City stay or island idyll?

32 GOOD GOING

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Rivers of Change: Responsible travel providers are working to ensure that river cruising’s rising tide truly lifts all.

34 TRAVELER’S TALE Why I Travel: Judy and Scott Phares commit to a life of never-ending adventure.

26 SUIT YOURSELVES: Stylish swimwear for the whole family.

38 CULTURE STOP Water World: A legendary hotel and vintage yacht reveal a different side of Venice.

46 FAMILY TIME

The water calls (from top): Relaxing in Venice aboard the Edipo Re and chasing waves on Cape Cod.

Cape Escape: How to turn Cape Cod into your family’s own private playground – even in high summer.

68 PERSPECTIVE ON THE COVER Fresh perspective: Paul Gauguin Cruises’ flagship, Paul Gauguin, from above.

Anguilla: Our current Caribbean game plan: Book it to the beach.

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Culture Stop

Your ship’s come in: Touring Venice aboard Edipo Re.

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Water World A legendary hotel and vintage yacht reveal a different side of Venice.

By Victoria Veilleux

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a private water taxi awaits to whisk me along the Venetian Lagoon’s “superhighway,” a fast lane demarcated by wooden pylons, to the storied Belmond Hotel Cipriani.

While I’ve visited the city many times, this privileged entrée available to hotel guests gives me a new perspective on – and appreciation for – La Serenissima’s lifeblood: water.

As we enter the main island’s famed labyrinthine canals, which provide access to Giudecca Island, the hotel’s home, the wooden boat’s motor slows to a hum.

Insulated from the inevitable crowds, I recognize that the lagoon, which I’d previously viewed as more of a novelty, is indeed a reality governing all aspects of Venetians’ daily life – this passage, for instance, is a morning commute, no less than if we were travelling by car. I feel inclined to duck as we pass under pedestrian bridges only a few feet overhead, and it sinks in why bouts with acqua alta (exceptionally high tides occurring when the moon’s gravity coincides with the scirocco winds) cause “traffic jams,” with boats having to change their routes because they’re unable to pass under some bridges. As the water taxi emerges near Saint Mark’s Square, the lowest part of the city, I contemplate the fashionable waterproof boots Venetian women vaunt when the tides conspire to bathe this part of the city in ankle- to knee-deep water.

After a few minutes, we approach Giudecca Island, a ribbon of lagoon separating me from the throngs flocking to the city center on this perfect May day.

“Getting in and out of Belmond Hotel Cipriani is a glamorous experience just by itself,” says New York City-based Virtuoso travel advisor Carlos Melia. “I always say that Venice is a glorious, theatrical experience – and if Venice is a theater, this hotel is its royal box.”

TYSON SADLO

UST BEYOND THE AIRPORT,

Culture Stop

Drawing my eye to the hotel’s jetty is a series of decorative brown-and-whitestriped pali da casada, meaning “poles of the family,” as they were once used to designate the colors of the nobles residing in each palazzo. It’s the extended hand of “doorman” Roberto Senigaglia, though, that really signals I’ve arrived.

Wearing a meticulously tailored suit and warm smile, he’s greeted countless guests for the past 25 years, including such stars as George and Amal Clooney. The couple booked the entire property when they married in 2014 and regularly return to sip cocktails created just for them by another veteran staff member, bartender Walter Bolzonella, who’s crafted libations here for 40 years.

Such loyalty among both staff and guests is unsurprising. Since its opening, in 1958, Belmond Hotel Cipriani has been synonymous with la dolce vita.

Along with its location close to, yet away from the crowds (it’s just five minutes to Saint Mark’s Square via a complimentary

shuttle launch), there’s Michelin-starred dining at Italian restaurant Oro, which features local-inflected dishes imbued with herbs clipped from the property’s gardens; opulent suites appointed with classic decor touches from Fortuny fabrics to Murano glass; and exclusive experiences such as an outdoor art class led by a Florentine artist. It’s precisely this quintessentially Venetian vibe that attracts a long list of aristocrats, actors, and artists from across the globe.

It’s fitting, then, that Belmond Hotel Cipriani’s most recent attraction is steeped in celebrity allure. In conjunction with the property’s 60th anniversary last year, the hotel began extending private outings to guests aboard a vintage yacht previously owned by Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini and painter Giuseppe Zigaina. Slipping out of my shoes and onto the smooth wooden deck of the 52foot Edipo Re, I feel as though I’ve entered another era. Perhaps frequent passenger

Maria Callas – opera singer and object of Pasolini’s affections – imprinted her melodies here. It was the craft’s soulful voice that spoke to the new owners, the Righetti family, in 2011, convincing them to rescue the vessel from disrepair and create a venue for responsible tourism. Their mission: to respect and preserve Venetian arts, environment, and social welfare, using the proceeds to give back to the community. Sailings veer off the beaten path to reveal authentic Venice and support local artisans, visiting places such as Pellestrina Island, where the art of making bobbin lace is still practiced. Many trips are accompanied by fascinating Venetians, such as vintners from microproducer Yeasteria, who pair natural wine varietals with ingredients from local farms.

Our captain, Enrico Vianello, punches buttons on the wooden cockpit panel controlling the motor, the wind too slight this day to engage the sail. I absorb the lagoon’s quiet, unadulterated beauty and understand why it has long drawn

A few of our favorite reasons to visit Belmond Hotel Cipriani (from left): Alfresco dining at Oro restaurant, private boat rides, and creative cocktails crafted by legendary bartender Walter Bolzonella.

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(ORO) ERIC LAIGNEL, (BOAT) HELEN CATHCART, (BARTENDER) TYSON SADLO

“I always say that Venice is a glorious, theatrical experience – and if Venice is a theater, Belmond Hotel Cipriani is its royal box.”

Culture Stop

painters, writers, and musicians.

We glide past Burano’s colorful homes and peek through open shop doors where gondolas are lined up for repair, their asymmetrically weighted sterns tipping them sideways in the water.

Here, far from the main island’s bustling boat traffic, brimming with tourist vaporetti and stripedshirted gondoliers, lies Venice’s magically mundane existence and miles of tidal mudflats and salt marshes – nature’s built-in flood protection, now, sadly, compromised by a perfect storm of climate change and human alterations to the landscape.

How ironic that the fluctuating water levels Venice’s original settlers relied upon to keep barbarians at bay is now the city’s greatest threat, I think, as I step onto the banks at our destination, the nearly uninhabited island of Torcello. It’s here that these fifth-century refugees constructed

their first building, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, containing mosaics and frescoes that rival the Vatican’s.

For me, though, it’s the creations by twentieth-century artists Lucio Andrich and Clementina De Luca, tucked away in a house museum, that make the most lasting impression. Sporting a top hat and ascot, Lucio’s nephew, Paolo Andrich, the museum’s eccentric host, lends insight into their art with Alice-in-Wonderland flair and pours bottomless glasses of prosecco during my alfresco lunch – the daily catch fried up over an open flame by a local fisherman.

Afterward, I stroll the lawns alongside him while he shares stories of his childhood on the island. At the water’s edge, as he snatches a sprig of sea purslane and chews it like an after-dinner mint, gazing dreamily over the grassy wetlands, I know he and I are seeing the same thing: the real Venice.

FLOAT YOUR BOAT How to navigate the waters during your Venice visit.

STAY With 96 rooms offering impressive views of Saint Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, Belmond Hotel Cipriani provides an unparalleled perspective on Venetian life, along with a host of exclusive experiences – including tastings at historic wineries, sailings aboard Edipo Re, and

TIP “If there’s a perfect way to explore and discover Venice, it’s by private boat. It gives you a different perspective, and I recommend fitting this excursion into any vacation budget.”

– Carlos Melia, Virtuoso travel advisor, New York City

a sunrise breakfast served atop a hidden architectural gem, the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo. Doubles from $760; Virtuoso travelers receive breakfast daily and a $100 dining credit. Contact your travel advisor regarding pricing for Edipo Re sailing tours.

PLAY Views of the Venetian Lagoon and Torcello from the island’s tenth-century bell tower.

During an outing with tour provider Family Twist, kids and adults alike can try their hand at steering Venice’s most famous mode of transit, the gondola. After navigating a few canals, they’ll delve into the vessel’s history during a visit to Squero Casal dei Servi, a fifteenth-century boatPrivate 2.5-hour tours from $167 (per person, based on a group of five guests).

LEARN Tour provider Context Travel can arrange an immersive experience with expert ecologists, who will explain the engineering feats that underpin this floating city – along with current strategies to preserve it. Private two-hour tours from $382 (per group of up to six guests).

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(TORCELLO) LOOK/ALAMY, (YACHT) TYSON SADLO

building workshop-turned-living museum.