My traveling group in Padova and Venice
May 2025 I led my 11th group trip to Italy with friends and students from my cooking classes. I always keep the group to no more than 8 (altho the very first time I took a group to Venice we were 11!). And this was 5th group trip to Venice. It seems I can’t stay away from this place. Venice has so much to offer: its food, its art, its architecture, its people and the chefs and tour guides I’ve come to know and love. But the over-arching stellar aspect is Venice itself. A glimmering city set in a blue lagoon.
On this trip we started by spending some days in Padova, just 30 minutes from Venice. This is a jewel of a town. With Venice Day Trips we toured the city, nibbled at the food market, saw where Galileo taught, and went into the countryside for wine and cheese tastings at artisan producers.
In Venice, we absorbed the lovely city, staying in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, and taking the vaporetto to San Marco, Rialto, and all points. Water taxis picked us up right at our lovely hotel to visit outer islands, Vignole, San Michele, Murano, the Lido. We spent 2 wonderful days with my favorite chef in Venice (my favorite chef, period), Marika Contaldo Seguso of Acquolina.
Marika Contaldo Seguso
First day we visited an island farm, where the farmer took us around, harvesting as went. We saw the verdant new baby artichokes, sweet peas, zucchini, zucchini flowers, beets, lettuces, and radishes. We cooked all these vegetables together at Marika’s kitchen.
On our second day with our chef, we toured the Rialto Market, and brought back bags and bags of lovely seafood to cook.
Marika’s husband, Gianluca Seguso, is part of the centuries-old glass-making family: Seguso 1397 (that’s the year they began). We toured his impressive high-art furnace and gallery on Murano.
Gianluca Seguso
Every time I start to plan a trip for Italy, thinking of where to bring my enthusiastic cooks and travelers, Venice seems to pull me back like a magnet. I’ve toured with my groups to Puglia, Rome, Florence, Parma, Sicily, and the Amalfi Coast. Where will we go next time???
In San Marco