A great philosopher once said, "The world is a book,
and those who don't travel read only one page."
Well, I've gotta say,
I've read a few pages, and I'm not crazy about the book.
I don't look forward to traveling for a number of reasons.
When it's too cold,
I'm not comfortable.
Ice swimming, naked?
- Yes. - Well, that's a terrific invitation.
When it's too warm, guess what? I'm not comfortable.
I can't move that fast.
- But I'm 75. - You need some help?
No, I got it.
And maybe it's time to expand my horizons.
Oh, my God.
First time I've had my hand up an elephant's ass.
On the plus side,
I'm staying at some unbelievable hotels.
Oh, my. This is spectacular.
The catch is, I've also agreed to explore what lies outside.
- Watch your step. - No kidding.
- Beautiful mountain. - That's a volcano.
That's a volcano?
A world I've spent my whole life avoiding.
Sadie.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Just surviving would be great.
This is the last time I have five vodkas with a Finn.
I'm actually very excited about seeing Venice,
because I've been told everyone should see Venice before they leave this Earth.
That's a cheery thought, isn't it?
So, here I am.
Venice, bursting with culture and history
and regularly ranked as the most beautiful city on Earth.
This is a destination crying out to be explored.
But exploring is something I rarely do when I'm traveling,
so I might be ill-equipped.
How do I get into town?
- Buongiorno, Eugene! - Buongiorno!
Come stai?
This vintage vessel is a Venetian water taxi...
Thank you.
...and accompanied by local guide and part-time sweater model Enrico,
it's taking me to my hotel.
Venice sits on a cluster of over 100 tiny islands
in a lagoon so spectacular, it's a World Heritage Site.
This is Venice. How beautiful is this?
This goes back to the beginning of the ninth century.
Ninth century?
Over a thousand years old,
this city was once the bustling center of a mighty trading empire,
the richest metropolis in Europe.
Now, it attracts up to five million tourists a year.
Could this be a destination where I have nothing to worry about?
Venice is built on stilts, basically.
It's a city built on stilts?
Yes, sir.
Maybe not.
How much weight can these stilts take?
There's a little bit of subsidence, which is more like a regional problem.
But, Eugene, an interesting thing is the city,
when it was made,
the sea level was something like one and half to two meters lower than now.
Okay.
So, we have shaky foundations and the sea level's rising.
Good to know I can just sit back, relax, and--
Heads.
Prepare to be decapitated.
These bridges scare me. Uh-oh, another one.
You've gotta be watching every second...
Watch your heads right now. Down, down, down.
...because trip to Venice could be over in a big way.
Head still attached to my body? Good.
And we finally arrived.
Here you are, Eugene. The Gritti Palace.
It's beautiful.
One of Venice's most exclusive hotels,
the Gritti Palace is a home away from home
for royalty, billionaires, Hollywood icons...
There's a cappuccino waiting to happen on that terrace.
...and now me.
Thank you.
The luxury I have to endure.
Good morning, Mr. Levy.
- Welcome to the Gritti. - Thank you.
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
I'm the general manager, Paolo Lorenzoni, and Carlotta.
Welcome, Mr. Levy. Welcome to the Gritti Palace.
Well, this is quite beautiful.
You know you're not in Kansas anymore when you walk in here.
Yes. Beautiful.
The Gritti's the oldest palace in Venice.
The Gritti names come from the Doge Andrea Gritti.
- The Doge was in Venice? - Yes. The Doge was like a king.
Wow.
Though not a very happy king, by the looks of things.
That's what I call a "sour puss."
When you're getting your portrait taken, put a little smile on your face.
Just, like, you know, lighten up a little bit.
Let me show you our library.
Under the eye of the grumpy Doge,
the Gritti's VIP guests are asked to sign in.
This is a precious book. It's-- We'd call it the "gold book."
And you see, immediately, the Ernest Hemingway signature here.
"Ernest...
- Hemingway. - ...Hemingway."
- And then we got the-- - Wow.
- "Liberace." - Nineteenth of July.
Who drew a little candelabra on his--
Yes, on the piano.
In case people didn't know if it was that Liberace.
This book is a veritable who's who of...
This is Charlie Chaplin.
...anyone who is anyone.
"Princess Margaret." Right, and she just wrote, "Margaret"?
- "Margaret", yes. - Yes.
And you're sure it's Princess Margaret?
- I hope so. - Okay.
Well, I hope by allowing me to stay here,
you're not lowering the bar.
Though the fact I haven't been asked to sign it yet
probably speaks volumes.
So, I'm noticing, Mr. Lorenzoni, the smudging on some of these pages
like somebody spilled a Bellini on them or something.
No, If there is damage to the book, it was when under the water.
Somebody dropped this book in the water?
No, it was high tide. And then some water went and get in.
Wow. This is, like--
So, the high tide comes in the hotel.
- Yes, correct. - Yes.
Do-- Did clients get any kind of discount here, when they--
- Not at all. They pay more-- - First floor of the hotel flooded--
They pay more for it?
Yeah, it's an experience. It's a new experience.
That's an experience you don't get in other hotels.
Thankfully, my hotel suite is on the first floor,
so fingers crossed
I won't be waking up to find my socks floating down the canal.
Oh, my.
So, Mr. Levy, what do you think about the room?
It's beautiful.
This is a room that is full of history and art.
Everything that you see here, the stuccos, the frescoes, are completely original.
Everything is pure Venetian.
Here, you can see this is real gold.
- This is real gold? - The gold leaf. Absolutely, yes.
This is done right here in Venice, you don't--
- It's done in Venice. - These chairs aren't imported?
No. Absolutely not.
Wow.
- Well, this must be an expensive chair. - Yes, of course.
- Right? 'Cause-- - Yes, it is.
I may come in here with a little nail file and just start
doing some scrapings, you know.
I'm a little out of my element here.
You know, real gold leaf on the furniture?
It's kind of the Old World preserved.
This is from the 17th century.
- No! - Oh, yes.
It's priceless.
Yep, that's right. The furniture is older than the United States.
Could I get used to this kind of opulence?
I-- Maybe.
Now, normally, I'd be spending the rest of the day,
and probably most of my stay, in this suite.
And not just because I love my creature comforts.
I know there's a lot to see in the world...
but leaving the hotel and exploring
a foreign place where I don't know where I am,
there's a certain amount of anxiety? I think. Yes.
Yet, deep down, I know there's more to sample here than the hotel menu.
I really have to overcome my butterflies,
take the road less traveled, and venture out into Venice.
- Monica? - Yes.
- Pleased to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
Are you gonna have something to drink?
Absolutely will have something to drink.
Local food writer, Monica,
has agreed to help me and thinks we should start by getting some lunch.
I always think that the best thing about a city when you discover it,
you should always discover it through food.
This is more-than-a-thousand-year-old republic that had so many
influences from all over the known world.
So, it's the food that is very different from the rest of Italy.
When tourists come to Venice,
are they expecting the best pizza they've ever had?
Yeah, probably.
And they get disappointed because it's got nothing to do with Venice.
Pizza comes from Naples.
In Venice, you go for risotto, you go for fish dishes, you go for pasta dishes.
That's what the Venetian cuisine is all about.
Busy, busy.
Yeah. I told you I was gonna show you the life of Venice.
This is a local fishmonger,
and we got some of the best fish in Italy because it's fresh every day.
You go from the fish, the vegetables, the cakes. It's all about food in Venice.
Now that's music to my ears.
So, this is a bacaro, an osteria.
The typical place where Venetians eat and drink.
This is actually one of the oldest wine places in the city.
I like where this is heading.
And I'm gonna get you to try the famous cicchetti that you can see here now.
Cicchetti.
They come from the word "ciccus" in Latin. That means "small".
Okay.
"Small" is not the word I was hoping would describe our lunch.
- Yes? How hungry are you? - I'm--
Well-- "I'm pretty damn hungry," as they say.
Fortunately, cicchetti refers to not one but many different types of finger food.
You have a couple of cicchetti.
And it's tradition to serve it with wine.
This is Raboso wine.
A tradition it would seem churlish to ignore.
And notice that it's served cold. It's chilled.
It's very, very refreshing.
It is. But don't be fooled, this is 13%. That's why you need--
So you need a lot of sandwiches with this baby, don't ya?
That's why you need a lot of cicchetti.
Monica's choice of wine has certainly eased me into this lunch.
I wish I could say the same about her choice of cicchetti.
And we definitely going for baccalá.
- It's actually dried cod. Okay? - Dried cod?
Dried cod that has been rehydrated by soaking it in fresh water,
changing it frequently for 72 hours.
- Uh-huh. Yeah. - And then it's been boiled, and then--
- And then boiled? - Then.
You're not making this sound appetizing, Monica.
You're gonna love it.
- I'm sure. Let me try. - I'm pretty sure you're gonna like it.
It's not as strong as people think it is.
No, it's very good.
Did you expect something like this?
No. I was expecting cat food, but it's actually--
It's actually delicious.
This is my idea of good eating...
- Yes. - ...you know?
Tasty little tidbits, delicious wine,
and nothing particular on the agenda.
- That's the Venetian way. - Yeah.
I'd be putting on so much weight.
I'd be 270 pounds right now, you know? And drunk.
There are six districts in Venice.
All offering a smorgasbord of culinary sites and flavors.
Monica's leading me further off the beaten track in the Cannaregio district.
This particular place, it's the only kosher bakery
in the province of Venice. And the province of Venice is quite big.
Well, even though we're in Italy...
- Yep. - ...you can't beat a Jewish deli.
Oh, yeah.
- Wow. - And many things on display
you only find here and nowhere else in the world.
"Bisse" is a typical cookie from the city.
- I love this already. - I know you do.
All right. Go ahead.
So, "impada" is a pastry stuffed with onions.
We think it probably comes from the Spanish Jewish community.
Jewish people from all over Europe started settling in Venice
as far back as the 13th century.
This is one of the most important part of the history of the world
because this is a Jewish ghetto, and this was the first ever ghetto in the world.
How did a Jewish ghetto come to be in Venice?
In 1516, the city of Venice decided
it made sense for the community to live all together in the same place.
As the years went by, they literally segregated, for the first time in history,
the Jewish people from the other communities,
and that's why slowly, slowly the term "ghetto" has become a terrible word.
This segregation lasted over two and a half centuries...
This is one of the gates.
This was shut when the curfew came. Nobody was allowed in or out.
...until the French invaded in 1797.
Napoleon decided to open the gates, not because he was fond of Jewish people,
but because, obviously, he was fond of their money.
So,
Napoleon was one of the better anti-Semites, I guess.
Well, it has personal resonance for me being Jewish.
It was off the beaten track, no question about it,
and would I have gone there if I wasn't doing this?
I would say probably not.
Because it's not what I do when I travel.
So, it's leaving a bit of an imprint.
Could be the Raboso.
But, no, I think it's just me.
Following an afternoon rich in history,
it's time for an evening rich in calories.
I've learned how Venice's locals eat.
Now it's time to discover how to dine like Venetian royalty.
Well, I'm gonna eat like a doge with a smile on his face.
And to ensure I get the best out of my experience,
the Gritti has assigned one of their A-list staff to look after me.
Maurizio, you look like a Hollywood movie star.
- Wow. - If I had those looks when I started out,
my career would have had a whole different way to go.
Tonight's menu has a distinctly Venetian theme:
ravioli in the shape of gondolas.
Oh, boy, is that good.
Wow.
Codfish with cannellini cream and black truffle.
This gets me excited because this is outstanding food.
And to finish it off, a dessert shaped like a cigar.
The cigar, it's because of our friend Hemingway
smoking a cigar here on this table.
- This is Ernest Hemingway's table? - Yeah.
Wow, I'm suddenly getting an urge to write.
Garnished with something for a very rich palate.
That's gold leaves. Eatable.
- Eatable? - Yeah.
Well, I can understand eating 24 carrots,
but eating gold is a whole other thing.
Wow.
This is insanely good.
So, so good.
Can you believe it?
One night in the luxury of this place
and I've already acquired a taste for gold.
Am I gonna have trouble getting through a metal detector at the airport...
- Don't worry about-- - ...because I've eat...
- Don't worry about it. That's not-- - ...because I've eaten this?
I've woken up to a stunning Venetian sunrise.
And I'm pleased to say the water is still where I left it:
firmly outside the hotel.
So, it's time to get up, get dressed, and order room service.
Good morning, Mr. Levy. How are you this morning?
I'm good, Maurizio.
This is why I travel. To stay in hotels like this.
So, what's your plan for today?
Well, I don't know.
I think if it was up to me,
I'd just be kinda sitting here for a few hours...
- and taking it in... - Whole day off.
...and perhaps having a coffee or two.
But what would you suggest?
I think you should get lost in the real places of Venice.
- "Get lost in the real places of Venice"? - Get lost.
- Yeah. - Just go around and get lost on it.
That is so not me.
And what's the best way to get lost in Venice?
Well, apparently, it's to take a trip
on the city's most famous form of transport:
a gondola.
They first arrived here over 900 years ago.
When I imagine the waterways looked a little different than they do now.
I'm noticing there are buses,
delivery boats, taxis.
I mean, it's busy. It's very active on the water.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained.
- Hello. - Hello.
Take your seat.
Okay, let's go.
And to be fair, this gondolier...
- What's your name? - Alessandro.
...Alessandro, not only has the best hair in the city...
This is the main channel. Canale Grande.
- Like rush hour. - Yeah.
...but also seems skilled at dodging the traffic.
How long have you been doing this?
Thirty years.
I started with my father when I was 12 years old, 13 years old.
- Your father was a gondolier? - Yes.
My father, my grand-grandfather, and my grandfather-- Yes.
And my son is trying to learn to be gondolier.
Wow.
It's a really family tradition.
- Yes. - I'm very proud of that.
Incredible.
As we move further from Venice's Grand Canal...
Well, that's better.
- Now, you're a real gondolier now. - Yeah.
...I'm starting to experience the city
as Alessandro's ancestors would have years ago.
It's awfully quiet when you're down these streets.
- Yes. - Just listen.
It's quiet.
It's smooth.
There's history.
It's actually quite lovely.
In this labyrinth of waterways,
I'm completely lost and loving it.
Maurizio would be proud.
Watch your head.
Watch my hat?
No. Wa-- Well, and your hat.
It's incredible to think how long gondoliering
has been passed down through Venice's generations.
Yet, Alessandro tells me there's even older
and rarer family businesses in town.
And as I'm trying to explore like a real traveler...
- Hello. - Hi.
- May I come in? - Yeah, you're welcome.
...I'm taking up his tip and meeting craftswoman, Eleonora.
Eugene, my twin sister Sara...
- Nice to meet you. - ...and my mother Sabrina.
Nice to meet you.
This family produces the gold leaf used by Venice's finest artisans
and the odd hotel chef.
Each sheet is thinner than a human hair and made entirely by hand...
...and breath.
You know, I could be good at this.
I've been breathing my whole life.
There. Breathe in the center.
Breathe, breathe.
Too much.
Well, there's something wrong with this foil, I think.
Could be the little table here. Is this the same as your table?
Yeah. Look.
Creating this delicate precision-engineered product
is the job of master craftsman Marino.
Ciao, papà.
- Buongiorno. - Buongiorno.
Eleonora's dad.
So, what is happening in here?
My father, Marino, is the last gold-beater in Italy and in Europe.
Okay.
When I first walked into the shop, I didn't know what to think.
Well, I see that he's got-- there's padding.
The gold inside between the plastic. Look.
Yeah, sheets of gold inside the plastic.
Because I just saw somebody hitting this thing with a sledgehammer,
just kinda staring out the window.
Why isn't he looking at what he's hitting?
Because his fingers are very close to the hammer.
- Yeah. Five times. - Five times he's smashed his finger?
Once would be enough to make me say,
"You know what? Maybe selling shoes might be good."
Now, how many times does he kind of--
I mean, does he beat it a hundred times?
30,000 beatings.
He hammers that 30,000 times?
Yeah. We continue the same production of the 17th century.
Is he leaving his arm to science?
You?
- Should I give it a try? - Take it. Yeah.
You're kidding me.
Oh, my God! This weighs a ton.
I can't do it with one arm.
It's no muscle. It's all technique.
So, there's a profession that has been going on for hundreds of years,
being passed down, you know, from father to son to daughter to son.
It's fascinating.
Am I ruining the gold?
No.
Safe to say, I'm not the apprentice Marino needs.
And this is one tradition definitely best kept in the family.
Wow. This is something.
It's another day waking up
in the sumptuous splendor of the Gritti Palace.
And general manager, Mr. Lorenzoni,
has asked me to accompany him to the hotel's most hallowed hall.
I would like to show you this wall of fame redone with watercolor.
It's something that was my idea.
Wow. I love the way these look.
I love the way they're done.
This wall of fame shows the most distinguished guests
dating back over 70 years.
We got Greta Garbo,
- Humphrey Bogart, Grace of Monaco. - Right.
And as of first thing this morning, a brand-new addition.
Look who it is.
It's Eugene Levy.
Wow.
That's a nice touch.
At least, I hope it is.
By the way, these people, unfortunately,
are no longer, let's say alive.
They're-- Well, that's a good way of putting it.
They're all dead.
Well, this is definitely a lovely gesture.
Lovely and frightening.
This could be an omen that something not good is about to happen.
Well, thank you, Mr. Lorenzoni.
- It was a pleasure. Really. - Thank you. Yes.
It's unlikely my life insurance covers traveling while under a curse,
but I'm gonna risk it as I've accepted an invitation to meet my gondolier friend,
Alessandro, on the other side of town.
Venice in the sunshine. It's gorgeous.
Traveling down these canals,
it doesn't take that long before you actually feel like a local, you know?
I could be on my way to work.
Could be on my way to get a jug of milk.
What is amazing is that Venice is actually a working city.
It's not just about taking tourists around on joyrides.
Business is going on. I mean, people are making a living.
There's some action happening here.
Dating back to the 1600s, this gondola repair yard,
known as a "Squero," is one of the oldest in Venice.
Alessandro.
- Buongiorno. - Everything all right?
- Yes. - And here
Alessandro's gondola has just had its annual service.
We are preparing the boat.
- We are ready to launch in few minutes. - Right.
He wants to introduce me to someone very special.
This is Samuel, my son.
Hi.
Samuel, you're gonna be a better gondolier than your dad?
Yes.
- Yeah, you think so? - For sure.
Reminds me of my son.
Well, he's got a lot of confidence.
- Yeah. - I like that.
So, Samuel, you will get this boat
- when your dad retires? - Yes.
Wow.
Now, this is a beautiful piece of work.
- This is the name of the boat. Here. - Look.
Roberta is my wife.
There's Alex.
Here's Samuel.
And Nicole, my little daughter.
Are you having more kids, do you think?
No, there are no more places to--
- You just ran out of places. - Yeah.
Making one of these gleaming gondolas is a real labor of love,
taking over 500 hours of Venetian craftsmanship.
The finished product is worth $50,000.
So, when Samuel inherits this boat, it's a big deal.
It's nice to work with your son, isn't it?
- Yes, it's really nice. It's very nice. - Yeah, I know.
- I agree. - I loved working with my son.
- Yeah? - It's a good experience
because not every father...
- Yeah. - ...gets to work with their kids, you know?
That's true. Yes.
Well, Alessandro,
I'm gonna let you put this boat back together,
'cause you've gotta get it back in the water before the sun goes down.
Yes, of course. Yeah.
There's a father and son working together
on something they both have a great passion for.
That's something special.
I mean, I got to work with my son for seven years.
My learning curve was just learning to step back and let him do it.
And I'm sure Alessandro is gonna be going through the same thing
at some point.
"You know what? Don't have to teach him anything anymore.
Just let him do it.
Take a step back and let him take over the family business."
The gondola's finally ready to launch again,
and Alessandro's doing his own stepping back
and letting Samuel take his place.
- Isn't it not just gonna go head-on... - Yeah.
...into the wall?
The canal is 11 meters.
- And so is your boat. - Yeah.
I'm very nervous.
I think what I didn't realize before I got here
was while this city is old, it's very, very alive.
Look at that.
'Cause, it's the families that have been keeping this city alive.
It's the families that have been keeping the history alive
by doing the work that they're doing and carrying on the professions
that are handed down from generation to generation.
I've been thoroughly seduced by Venice.
Venturing off this city's tourist track,
I've seen it through the eyes of its locals.
Their food, history, and traditions.
And it's truly touched me.
This is an entirely new way of traveling for me.
And these are things I probably would not have gone out to see.
You know, when I get to a place, what is the most important thing for me?
Well, it was always the hotel, and that still is important.
I love hanging around the hotel,
but I would not have traveled around and discovered what makes the city tick.
I wouldn't have known that, and I think it's important to know it.
So, I'm leaning toward this being a very good thing for me.