I OPEN SOME TIME

When I was in Venice in 2010 I saw a sign on a shop window that delighted me:

When I was there in 2012 I wanted to go back to the same store to show Gabriana and Diane the funny sign. I guess they had had too many complaints. But they still needed to put in a little twist. What stores open at 12:20? This is what we found:

And this is completely ignoring the Venetian custom of closing during the midday for lunch. Diane had her own ideas about what kind of store this was. I thought they either looked like great Burning Man attire or clothes that an old friend from The Well, Howard Rheingold, would wear. Here are some pictures I took of the inside in 2010. You can make your own guess about the clientele.

I took the 2010 pictures and the 2012 pictures were taken by Gabriana Marks and Diane Rauchwerger. I thank them for their good eyes and fresh viewing of Venice!

PLease follow Gabriana’s blog

Another Venice… plus Murano

One day Elisa came and got us and we all made our way to the San Marco vaporetto stop. When I say “made our way,” I mean Elisa took us every which way on all the back roads, the ones Venetians use, to avoid the crowds and get to the vaporetto. I exclaimed to her that we were going all the back roads, and she corrected me and said that this WAS the way! It was fun to be let in on how Venetians deal with all the crowds.

Glass Art Display on Murano

You wouldn’t believe the numbers of people strolling on all the roads with stores or leading to famous places in Venice. We emerge from our quiet little “alley” and immediately have to merge with the crowd; I have never seen so many people on the street before. Picture the crowd leaving a sporting event and streaming back to their cars. This is what it is like, but crowded onto narrow little streets filled with people, strollers, umbrellas, etc.

We have taken to noticing the small roads that lead off the main streets. There we have found another Venice: Restaurants that serve wonderful food for a fraction of the cost, stores and bars that cater to natives, and room to breathe as you are walking. The bars here don’t just serve alcohol.  They serve food too, and people of all ages eat at them.

I had been thinking that I needed a belt, but hadn’t been searching. We looked into a window and saw a shoemaker working on something in the back of the shop. He had an odd assortment of things that he made, besides being the local shoemaker. There were shelves of the shoes he was working on, which I noticed as he led me back through the shop to a mirror to see my belt. His only mirror was the one in his “toilette.” Clearly it was not a retail shop. He gave us his card, which only had a Venetian address: the sestiere (district) and number. When we looked like  we wanted more, he took the card back and stamped more information on the back.  Still no street name though, which he hand wrote on the back of the card so we could find his shop again.

We found his shop on our way home from an island trip to Murano. We arrived  early one afternoon and called Mattio, the glassblower we met on a boat outside our window. He had just bought the boat docked in front of our apartment. When we found out that he was a glassblower, we asked if we could come and visit his glass furnace in Murano. When we called, he said they were finished for the day. They work from 7 am to 2, but they were already cleaning up then. He invited us back the next day.

We set our alarms and left the apartment around 9 am. We were lucky to get a boat right away. We called and Mattio sent one of the workers to get us and we wound around to the furnace on a back street. It was fascinating to see all the steps involved. It is a family operation. He and his brother Marco, blow glass and make the small pieces. Their father, Davide, makes fantastic large museum pieces. Their mother blows glass too and does other odd jobs and bookkeeping, including wrapping pieces for shipping. There were others there too, including an American woman named Shelley who is collaborating with Davide on a large piece. She and her husband are staying in an apartment on the premises. We will keep in touch with her through Facebook.

Here are some pictures from our glassworks visit:

Mattio showing us one of his father’s creations and explaining the process with his hands

Marco with his glass

Here is the American woman, Shelley, who is collaborating with Davide

Davide, Gabriana, Mattio, Giuditta, Diane

Mattio told us about how he ended up there. He and his brother had wanted to get as far away as they could from the family business. They had helped as children, but each made different plans for a future. Mattio went to law school and his brother  studied languages and traveled all over the world. At one point, Mattio dropped out of law school because he wasn’t interested and returned temporarily to the family business. Then he really got into it and now is very happy. His brother was needed at one time and he was between trips. He also came temporarily, but is there and is very happy.

They called their father “Davide” out of respect as the glass master and owner of the business. When we told Davide how much we loved his work, he hugged his son and said that HE was his best work. Then he hugged me too. It was very nice.

While we were on Murano the first day, we walked around and saw all the shops. We found one where the guy was using glass rods and a torch to make small glass pieces in the shop. He and his brother own shops next door to each other. We met Bernardino first and got some things from him. Then he told us about his brother next door, Giorgio, who was using the glass rods and offered to demonstrate for us. Gabriana asked him if he could make a figure that looked like Abby. He got out the appropriate colored rods and 15 minutes later, we had a tiny figure of Abby!

Here is the final product of glass Abby!

On the second day we were on Murano we went to the glass museum. We loved the pieces from the first and second centuries. There were tiny pitchers and vases. After seeing various glass methods, we couldn’t figure out how these pieces were made.

This is getting long, but I have to share two funny signs we saw. One was in the window of a dress shop: “Cheaply Fashion & Chic” and the other was in a church: “This is a church. Do not behave indecently.” That last one gave us a lots of giggles and we wondered what had happened to make them spell out that rule!

Giorgio and a necklace of his that I chose

I would really love to know who is reading this blog. Please make comments, however long or short. I like to get a feel for who I’m talking to. It truly feels like you are along on the trip with us and makes us want to share more!

And please also follow Gabriana’s blog, Nosy Parker, to read more about our Venetian adventures: www.nosyparkerblog.blogspot.com.  All the  pictures were taken by my daughter, Gabriana.

Our Amazing Campiello (Courtyard)!

Besides housing a very well known,  popular and excellent restaurant, Taverna al Remer, (http://www.alremer.com/) our campiello has offered us many interesting events. In the first picture below, you can see our door on the far left. The stairway goes to the apartments upstairs and the taverna is  behind the archway on the right. Today is Wednesday and the taverna is closed. Usually there are tables set up in front.

Campiello Del Remer

The second picture shows our front door on the right and the dock on the Gran Canal. You can see the vaparetto station across the canal (yellow building in front of the arches). The arches are next to the Rialto fish and vegetable market.

Our dock

On one of our first days, a wedding party arrived at the dock in a water taxi to take pictures and have some champagne before returning to their reception. We went outside to see what was happening. They immediately welcomed us to the “party” and everyone wanted to talk to us and pet Abby. The bride was wearing a beautiful classic simple long gown and the bridesmaids all wore gowns of a pale grey. She was American and the groom was British. They were living in Australia. There were five photographers with them who posed the bride in very formal poses (it seemed endless). We waved goodbye as they took off in their water taxi. Here are some pictures from this adventure.

Bride and Groom

Bridesmaids

Groomsmen

The next day we looked out the window of our living room and saw a wedding taking place right against our window. We could see the shaking hands of the bride as she said her vows. She was wearing a beautiful short dress and was surrounded by all her guests. They also had treats from the taverna. That seemed to be their reception.

Today we heard some clapping and we looked out to see what was up. A couple was standing at the end of the dock and people were gathered around. Lots of kissing followed and shaking of hands. We were too curious for words. Gabriana opened the window and shouted the obvious question to them. The guy shouted back that he had just proposed. We clapped and shouted congratulations.

One night as we were arriving home, we saw a bachelorette party taking place. They were all wearing pink ears and tails. They greeted us as we walked by. Another happy occasion.

Now to tell you about this amazing taverna. A few days ago, it was getting late and we were hungry. I didn’t feel up to going out for food. I said I would eat whatever my trip mates found, thinking they would bring back some sort of sandwich. I expected them to be gone for awhile. Instead, after about 4 minutes they returned with big smiles on their faces! They had gone into the taverna to see what they had. Evidently the server had noticed us in the campiello and asked if we would like to have the food delivered rather than wait to take it home! So Gabriana and Diane came back and set a beautiful dining room table with special table mats and candles and a little while later the sweet server, Severine, came to our door with a feast, which she brought to our lovely table. Here she is bringing us joy.

Our server, Severine

Our taverna dinner

I especially liked the grilled tuna steak. She made several trips and brought us wine and bread. When she came to take away the dishes, we ordered two of their lovely desserts. This time the manager and the server came in to bring the desserts and to wish us well. After we finished the two desserts, we ordered another because it was so good.

Our dessert

Here is a picture of me showing our gratitude to our server.

Thanking Severine for bringing us such a lovely meal!

The next night we took Abby outside and the manager was outside in the campiello having a smoke. He came right over to us for a chat. Tonight, Monday, we weren’t very hungry, so we turned to our “personal chefs” at the taverna. They just brought us food, and when Gabriana and Diane went to order the dessert, the bartender asked if we had tried the tiramisu. When they said no, the manager said he would throw in a tiramisu to our dessert order and wouldn’t charge us! We’ve continued going back and are making our way through their menu. Another day has passed.

Diane and I went into the taverna on our way to explore the city. The manager, Vincenzo, had told us that it used to be a warehouse for rowing supplies. He said that “remer” meant rowing. They were happy to see us and showed us around. Tonight Gabriana went to see them and make some arrangements. The bartender made her a cocktail “on the house” and the staff asked her to join them for drinks after they close the taverna.

We are continuing our adventures, which I’ll tell you about in the next installment.

I am feeling much better this week than last. I was having some stomach and back problems and needed a lot of rest. But because our apartment is right on the Gran Canal, I could be inside and still enjoy fully all the water life of Venice. It’s a never-ending show and parade.

PS: Please also follow Gabriana’s blog, Nosy Parker, to read more about our Venetian adventures: www.nosyparkerblog.wordpress.com.  The first two pictures were taken by me. All the other photos in this post were taken by my daughter, Gabriana. And please, as always, we LOVE your comments and suggestions and encouragement. It truly feels like you are along on the trip with us and makes us want to share more!

Miscellaneous Venetian musings

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m noticing the different rhythms on the Gran Canal. During the week there are many barges picking up garbage, and loading and unloading building materials and boxes. The labels on the boxes remind me of UPS labels. And they are all the same. On Saturday there only seem to be pleasure boats: many gondole, rowboats, a singing crew that sounded like a choir. (We wondered how they found so many crew members with good voices. Oh, I forgot. I’m in Venice, where everyone sings!), water taxis, water buses (called vaporetti and traghettos), motorboats and speed boats. Everyone goes at a pretty slow pace except the ambulance and police boats. It is surprising to see such sudden speed when everything is just humming along. This whole scene is a view that never tires me.

I love to sit on my tiny balcony or in the window seat and wave to the people passing by on gondole. I’ve even been the subject of some photos as they go by. I waved to a gondolier today and he mouthed “Ciao” to me. Quite cute.

Ristorante Da Raffaele

Two nights ago we were all awakened by a wide boat trying to go down the narrow canal alongside our apartment (which feeds into the Gran Canal) and scraping as it went.

Da Raffaele Grilled Fish Presentation

Friday night we had the most wonderful meal at Ristorante Da Raffaele thanks to our Venetian friend (and local university professor) Shaul. The restaurant owner, Renato, came to our table throughout the meal to see how we were doing. Gabriana told him it was the best gnocchi in her life! All the other people at the tables enjoyed her enthusiasm! Lucky for me, our temporary houseguest Hannah joined me in the mixed seafood platter (lots of yummy shellfish). It was all so amazingly fresh and grilled to perfection. They even brought little glasses of our favorite wine (Moscato di Asti) with the delectable desserts! The atmosphere, the food, the people… it was all so wonderful.

Me, Renato and Gabriana (L to R)

After dinner we saw that there was an open store called La Ricerca nearby that looked interesting. This is an understatement. It was one of the rare true Venetian stores where the owner, Allesandro, is an artist and the other things he carries are made by friends of his. The shop featured handmade leather items, including wonderful masks, book covers, stationery, book marks, and many things covered with swirled paper and bits of maps.

Allessandro and his wonderful graphic map of Venice

We noticed a poster of Venice and he came over and explained each tiny part. He was a wonderful story teller. He said the poster was his idea, but he commissioned an artist to do the drawings. We got one and are trying to figure out on which wall we can study it most closely at home. If you live near us you are welcome to come and see this fascinating poster (pictured behind Allessandro in the photo at the right).

Allessandro was closing his shop so he walked us home. We had gotten lost on the way there so it was very welcome. He regaled us with stories all the way home. And he invited us to his workshop where he works on leather.

Cabanas at Lido Beach, Venice

We saw Elisa, my landlady from two years ago, and went to the island of Lido. It has a beautiful stretch of beach. This picture shows how it is different from California beaches. People rent these little cabanas for the summer season. The same people rent year after year and it is very sociable when everyone is there. We were there the day after the season closed. We walked way down the beach, away from all the crowd, and swam by ourselves in the water, which was warm and very refreshing!

We went on the tour of the island of San Servolo, led by Elisa’s niece, Giovanna. I had  been to her wedding two years ago, so it was nice to see her again. The island was beautiful. I can see why it was recommended.

Gardens at San Servolo

The tour was of the main building, which houses an international university now, but had been a convent and then a mental hospital that seemed more like a torture chamber. The artifacts and the images were very disturbing and we all had trouble sleeping that night.

There is so much more to tell, but I’m sure you are getting tired. I will write more later.

PS: Please also follow Gabriana’s blog, Nosy Parker, to read more about our Venetian adventures: www.nosyparkerblog.blogspot.com. All the photos in this post were taken by my daughter, Gabriana. And please, as always, we LOVE your comments and suggestions and encouragement. It truly feels like you are along on the trip with us and makes us want to share more!

A little serendipity

Hello everyone! We are finally in Venice. We arrived midday on Wednesday. We broke the trip up into three sections, to give us time to rest in between. Gabriana arranged for carts to pick us up each time so I wouldn’t have to walk very far. We had the nicest cart driver in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was originally from Sacramento, CA, and when we asked her how she ended up in Charlotte, she told us about a website called findyourspot.com. She and her husband answered all the questions and the result was Charlotte. She said they’ve been there 6 years and are very happy, except for the sticky summer heat when they prefer to return to California.

Everyone loved Abby (and she loved everyone too). We were even able to upgrade on one leg of the trip because of her! She was so well behaved on the trip that people were surprised there was a dog board.

We are delighted with our apartment! Our living room faces the Gran Canal. Sitting on any of the couches gives us a view of all the water traffic. We wave to the gondoliers and they wave back. One shouted “Ciao bella” to Gabriana and blew kisses as he went around the corner to the canal on the side of our apartment. We also wave to the passengers and they are so delighted to be on the gondolas, and we too are so delighted to be there, that we have lovely wave-fests.

We got a recommendation from some neighbors about a good restaurant for the first night. It was just around the corner. The kitchen was in a building, but the seating was outdoors and across the way, at tables under umbrellas. It kept raining during the meal and we wondered how they were going to deliver the food. We looked up and saw a rather large waiter holding a big umbrella, with a silly grin on his face, protecting the food. The waiters all came around to talk to us and Abby. We ordered a creme brulee for dessert and were talking about how the creme was so light and just the right amount of sweetness. One of the waiters told us that our waiter was also the baker and that he had made the creme brulee. He was so happy to hear how much we liked it.

We have had some serendipity visit us. One morning we were talking to the guy who owns the motorboat parked in front of our apartment. He was telling us all about renting a motorboat, which Gabriana wants to do. He told us he had just finished delivering a glass piece with the boat and that he and his brother are glassblowers on Murano. We exclaimed that we wanted to go to Murano to see that and he offered to take us on a tour of his glassworks, which is not open to the public. He gave us his phone number to call when we want to come.

We met Elisa, my former landlady (and friend) for a “spritz” yesterday afternoon. It was lovely to catch up. When I asked her about her family (whom I met last time at her niece’s wedding) she said her niece was leading tours on the island of San Servolo. We had been told to be sure to see this by several people. Elisa said she would take us there and her niece would lead us on a tour!

We are feeling very lucky and happy. I told my tripmates about the Italian saying “Dolce far niente,” which means “it is sweet to do nothing.” During the hot part of the day, we are learning first hand how to do that, and getting a wonderful rest.

We had a gondola ride tonight. We had some recommendations from a friend for gondoliers who wouldn’t rip us off. The first one we talked to was Giovanni. He wasn’t working today and we wanted to go tonight. He and Gabriana had such a lovely conversation that he gave us an open invitation to have drinks with him and his wife on the island of Giudecca. We took a vaporetto (water bus) to get to where we had arranged to meet a gondolier for tonight. We went along the Gran Canal and saw the beautiful, ornate and varied buildings against the sunset along the way. I turned to Gabriana and noticed she was crying a bit. I asked her why and she said that it was so beautiful and that she just now got why I wanted to come here so badly and she thanked me for pursuing this dream. I was very touched.
PS: Please also follow Gabriana’s blog, Nosy Parker, to read more about our Venetian adventures: www.nosyparkerblog.blogspot.com. And please, as always, we LOVE your comments and suggestions and encouragement. It truly feels like you are along on the trip with us and makes us want to share more!

I’m returning to my beloved Venice!

“Don’t Forget Me!” -Abby in Suitcase

Well, a lot has happened since my last post! I had brain surgery at the end of June 2011.  They were able to remove all but a small portion of the tumor, which was wrapped around a vein. It turned out not to be benign after all; the pathology report showed anaplastic hemangiopericytoma, an extremely rare, aggressive and malignant brain cancer. The word “cancer” was not used with us until we used persistence and interrogation. (We could be on the cast of NCIS with our doctor interrogation skills). But it actually took months – and new doctors –  to find out the diagnosis and almost a year to find out the prognosis!

I underwent six weeks of daily radiation treatments on my brain, but that didn’t remove it completely. The radiation took a lot out of me and I was fatigued for quite a while. Just as I was “recovering” from the radiation, I had a minor ischemic stroke and seizures and was in the hospital for a few weeks in January 2012. That took its toll on me too, and my daughter Gabriana, who cares for me full-time, was no longer able to work.

I felt like I was getting a bit better, even though many of the symptoms (dizziness, confusion, short term memory loss and vertigo among them) persisted. The doctor, a brain cancer specialist, told me even though I was feeling stronger, the tumor could (and probably would) grow back suddenly and multiply quickly. And that the chances of my survival were not great. At the time he said 2-5 years, but almost a year had elapsed before we knew this. My plan is to beat the odds and live a long and happy life. Just for the record.

We decided that while I was feeling better, and before the tumor grew, we should go to my beloved Venice, Italy. My last MRI showed no growth. Yay!!!!! My daughter has been blogging about our adventures finding an apartment and more in her blog, Nosy Parker. She also wrote a tribute post to me.

We are almost finished packing and are very excited. We leave in early September and will be there for a month. When I returned from my last trip, I had wanted to move to Venice. Then I compromised at three months. When we told the doctor, he shook his head and said it would only be medically wise to go for 2 to 4 weeks. I asked for 6 weeks, and he told me not to push it.

Lifelong Friends Diane and Jude

We are taking our darling service dog, Abby, and my best friend from childhood, Diane. If I do have a recurrence there, it will be easier for Gabriana to have help. We will also enjoy giggling together, as we have done for all these years. By the way, we are staying in Venice until early October, so we can celebrate my 70th birthday there!

We recently celebrated our upcoming travels with a wonderful Buon Viaggio BBQ; it was fantastic to reconnect with so many friends! Thank you to everyone who came and brought lovely treats to share. (My apologies if I scared anyone with my little seizure toward the end of the party, and thank you to those for their quick action in alerting Gabriana.)

I am deeply touched by the many friends, loved ones and even anonymous strangers who’ve sent us (in lieu of airline miles donations) donations to help make this special trip a reality. Please know how much we appreciate your support and encouragement. Your blessings have breathed new life into me as we prepare for our special journey.

See you in Venice — where I’m hoping we’ll get to meet Johnny Depp!!!

Come along on some of my wanderings

I have a lot of things saved up to share with you. So come along. I’ll do the walking and you can just enjoy. My pedometer read 21,389 steps two days ago!

I’ve heard some funny bits of conversation while I’ve been here.

Earlier this week I took a lovely ride on the vaporetto to Lido and was waiting for my friend, Iva, at the station. A mother and her child got off the vaporetto and started walking toward the street ahead. The child yelled (in English) “Mama, look! They have streets now! It’s not Venice anymore!”

A few weeks ago after it rained, there were puddles on the streets. A grandmother and her granddaughter approached one and the little girl got giddy. As she approached the puddle her grandmother shouted,  “Non andare mezzo del acqua! Non andare mezzo del acqua!”(Don’t walk in the middle of the water.) The little girl did not hesitate and stamped right through the puddle.

I read a description of acqua alta that really fits. Someone was saying that acqua alta isn’t a sudden flood, like some people think. The water doesn’t just rush from out of nowhere. It’s like a bathtub slowly overfilling.

An image that sticks in my mind from Bologna: A guy riding a bicycle with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, singing.

A cannonball was shot at this church on August 6, 1849 and is still lodged in the wall, and marked with the date. A peace treaty was signed on that day, but I don’t know how the cannonball relates to that.

I thought it was interesting to see how supplies were brought in a boat and loaded into this storeroom. It looks like a handy operation.

When I was waiting at the vaporetto stop I saw a sad sign. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to create a nice ad for babysitting, and no one had even torn off one of the slips with the phone number. When Iva arrived, I showed it to her and we thought about tearing one off so when the person came by to check, she would feel better about her effort. We didn’t do it. We didnt’ want to give her false hope.

As we were going along the walkway from the vaporetto stop to Iva’s school, we saw something that looked out of place. For three reasons. This was a really fancy hotel. Best Western? Italy?

I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me. I saw one near Piazza San Marco a few days before.

I was trying to find Piazza San Marco and I was glad to see that someone had left bread crumbs.

And more:

When I got within sight, I decided it wasn’t worth it.

I know I’ve made a big deal about how fresh Grom gelato is and how interesting Alaska gelato is. In my wanderings, and maybe because I was missing the taste of peanuts, I saw this gelato place and ordered and was NOT disappointed. I have retraced my steps several times since so I can find it easily when the peanut craving returns.  It’s on a tiny street off Campo San Bartolomeo, opposite one of my favorite stores, Promod. It didn’t taste like peanut butter, but another kind of wonderful mixture of peanuts.

When acqua alta comes, people say to be careful of the salt water. If you are wearing regular shoes, the salt can ruin them. My boots got soaked in the rain, but that was just annoying, not disastrous. This is the way that people protect their wooden doors.

This guy was grazing in the garden of Palazzo Albrizzi, where I have gone several times with Elisa and her friends to hear some wonderful free concerts.

I had seen these in the window one night when I was searching for an open bakery for bread and didn’t have time to stop. I went back a few days later and purchased this giant confection called Baci in Gondola, kisses in a gondola. I put my cellphone in the picture so you could see how large this was. It was meringue with chocolate between the two parts.

I went to the island of Giudecca one day a few weeks ago and had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Giudecca canal. I had heard about someone who had created a houseboat out of a vaporetto, so after lunch I started searching. I finally found it at the far end of the large Rio del Ponte Longo. I could see that it was a boat on the #2 line, since they kept some signage on the boat. It was so charming. I hung out a little while in case they came home so I could ask to see the inside. No luck. Here are some pictures.

On the way back to the vaporetto (after the houseboat that I saw, I’d much rather ride on it) I saw a man “working at home.” It gave a new meaning to the concept. And since people don’t have garages, he was working right in the street. You might have noticed by now that almost ALL the houses in Venice have these green shutters. It was nice to see that they could be given new life.

I’ve seen the sign below all over town. Always handwritten and with a bit of variation. They are telling everyone that they have received this year’s torbolin wine. It’s so refreshing to see the excitement of the wine merchants and the obvious anticipation of their customers. And it didn’t occur to anyone to make a fancy sign on a computer and put it out each year.

I saw these shoes in the window of a shop and noted that all were sleek. There were none of the giant sports shoes we are so fond of in America. I think I’ll go in the next time I see a window like this and try on a pair. I wonder if they are comfortable.

A spritz or two with Venice Daily Photo author

To keep Venice alive for me this past year, I subscribed to the blog, Venice Daily Photo. I even have it on my Yahoo page, so it is the first thing I see when I get my email.  Each day Pierre Pareja posts a photo of Venice and often doesn’t give the location. He likes the same kinds of hidden gems that I do, so each day is a treasure. He even made winter in Venice seem appealing, which is something for this California native.

There are many followers of his blog, and most jump in to guess the location and compliment Pierre on his marvelous shots. I was even able to add to the discussion when he published a picture of a certain red house that was mentioned in the book, The City of Fallen Angels, by John Berendt, which I had just finished. His posts always seemed to follow what I was reading about Venice. It was almost eerie.

He was in the United States this summer and so took a break from his Venice postings. I missed my daily fix. When I got here, I noticed he was back!! So I emailed him and asked to meet for a spritz. I recalled a very inviting picture he had published on May 21 of this year which first introduced me to the spritz and the afternoon custom here. Doesn’t this look good?

He agreed and sent me one of his pictures to name the place. (http://venicedailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/caffe.html) He didn’t leave me in the dark on its location and said that it was in Campo Santa Margherita. He said his girlfriend, Isa, would join us as well as another Venice Daily Photo friend.

I went a few days early to check it out. I even used it as a meeting place when someone else suggested we meet in that area. “Oh, yes,” I said, like a native. “How about meeting at that bar with the red window”? It is referred to as “Caffe Rosso,” but I’m not sure if that is its real name.

He had set Wednesday, September 29 at 6 pm as the day to meet. I wrote it on my calendar and then wondered why he hadn’t shown up on Tuesday, September 28 by 6:15. I tentatively asked one guy if his name was Pierre and he just looked at me. Luckily a friend had given me her code to use for Venice Connected wifi, so I was able to check my email while standing there waiting. “Wednesday” popped out at me in the email. I sat down at one of the tables and enjoyed a spritz. And I sent him email with my telephone number and picture in case we had problems finding each other the next night.

So the next night here was this lovely, smiling man with his beautiful girlfriend, Isa (say “ee-sa”–short for Isabel) and a giant camera over his shoulder standing in front of Caffe Rosso.

The other person who met us was Bert, from England, who happened to be in Venice, hunting down places he had read about and wanted to photograph. Bert is always one of the first to comment on the location. Bert later showed me his tricks for deciphering Venice addresses and how he locates Pierre’s pictures so quickly. Tonight when Elisa invited me to her house for dinner, I just asked for the sestiere (district) number. Thank you, Bert!

Here is a picture of the three of them at our table. You can see spritz evidence on the table! We had just had our first round.

We had a nice chat and got to know each other. Pierre loves the English language and the United States. They started out in Washington D.C. and he posted a picture of fireworks. That was all we had for the summer. They also enjoyed time they spent in Montana.  Pierre also has a Barcelona and Rome blog. He enjoys the comments from people on his blogs and he often responds if there is a question or a comment he wants to make. When he heard about my great flat, he asked for contact information for my landlady.

Here is the link to his current blog page where you can read all about Pierre and see links to his other blogs:

http://venicedailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/10/gone-fishing.html

He liked my watercolor journal and asked me to pose with my favorite picture. This is one he took. I realize that I showed this picture before, but I wanted to include it here to show its context. And I like it.

We decided it would be fun to meet again with Venice Daily Photo friends.

He said they had been to an island during that day so the next few pictures were from that trip. My birthday was a few days later and when I opened his blog, this is what I saw:

http://venicedailyphoto.blogspot.com/2010/10/vdp-friends.html

It was such a wonderful surprise. He also published a link to my blog. Since then I have received very nice email (and even a lovely skype conversation) from some of his readers who read my blog and have a dinner invitation this coming week from one who is coming to Venice. It was wonderful to be in contact with other Venice lovers!

Wandering, getting lost, finding gelato and more!

Yesterday was one of those days with vague plans that turn out to be very rewarding. I set out again to find Frary’s Restaurant. I had read about it in “Time Out Venice” and it looked interesting. They had a special meal lunch price and Middle Eastern food. I had found it the day before, but it was closed.

When I say “set out again to find” I mean it. Since it is on the other side of the Grand Canal, you can walk on the main street filled with people that goes all the way around the edge of the canal and cross the bridge near the train station or take the traghetto across (a gondola for transporting people across the canal). In either case, you then have to wind your way through narrow streets and hope to find something familiar, or at least to identify where you are on the map.

The previous day I had walked all around, crossed the bridge, and then retraced my steps from an earlier venture to the blues bar. It turns out the restaurant was nearby. I really felt like another character in the Hansel and Gretel story, minus the bread crumbs. So yesterday I decided to take my chances with the traghetto route.

Here is a picture of Ca D’Oro, the palace near my vaporetto stop, from the other side of the canal, where I arrived after the quick traghetto ride. It used to be covered in gold, which explains the name, but only the ornate structure exists today. The gold is long gone.

I walked round and round and didn’t seem to get anywhere. It’s so disheartening to arrive at the same campo again and again and see the same man sitting on the well head (in every campo is an old well that used to be used, covered by a matching top) reading the same newspaper!

I finally got to a campo whose name I recognized, but couldn’t find on the map. I gave up and just started walking. I found someone who looked like a native and asked for directions. That sweet man said he was going there and he would show me the way! I was headed completely in the wrong direction!

I got to the restaurant, had a lovely, tasty lunch, and left. Dolmades and spicy chicken with rice. I was full, but decided there was still room for a gelato. But not just any gelato. After having Grom gelato on the street near me, I have become a gelato snob. So I wanted to find one I had read about in my various sources. Having this vague idea of finding good gelato after I had just been led to the campo I had unsuccessfully searched for, seemed a little audacious. But I set out, exploring new territory as I went along. I had no idea where I was, a feeling shared my many here. It’s part of the charm of Venice and what makes people who are lost talk to each other.

Suddenly I came upon this sign and it seemed slightly familiar.

It was Alaska Gelato, which I had read about and was on my list of places I wanted to find. There is a great app on the iPhone called Occhio Go Venezia, which I have been reading all this past year. It has recommendations and information about lots of different aspects of Venice: city info, transportation, tips and tricks, food, etc. I had read about Alaska gelato and the interesting flavors they had, such as artichoke and ginger. I went in and ordered a ginger cone. It was less than half the price at Grom. I’ve had ginger gelato before, but this had actual pieces of ginger in it and was delicious. As I was entering the second time to get another gelato and tell the man how much I enjoyed the one I had just finished (think: the bakery in San Rocco!) , a tour group was led inside, so I had to wait. I got my chance and he laughed to see me again so soon. I told him how much I enjoyed it and he said that not many places had ginger gelato. I told him about Holy Gelato in San Francisco and he actually wrote down the name. This time I had fig gelato, since I knew they were in season. When I told him why I had chosen fig and not pistacchio, which I also like, he took my cone back and put a dab of pistacchio on the top. Also excellent, fresh, and delicious. He told me to come back on Friday for artichoke gelato. He said he was going to go to the market to see if the second season of artichokes had arrived.  Here is a picture of Carlo Pistacchi (his real name):

I just found the Alaska Gelato entry in my iPhone app and there are VERY specific directions on how to get there. I will used them tomorrow when I return for artichoke gelato! And I think I’d better consult the app for anything else I want to find!

Another quest was to find the scene I painted last year in my watercolor journal and which is partially shown at the top of this blog page. Here is a picture taken of me by Pierre Pareja, author of the Venice Daily Photo blog, which I promise to write about next! He asked me to show him my favorite watercolor.

I found it the day before, when the restaurant was closed, but it was overcast that day and the blue shades, which I like so much weren’t up. I found it again yesterday, but the first time it was too sunny. I went back later and got several much better shots. This year I noticed how beautiful the bridge was that I was standing on to take the picture.  So I’ve included it in the following pictures. Do you recognize the scene?

And here is a shot of the bridge and its shadow:

My cell phone rang during my wanderings and Elisa, my landlady and friend, was calling to say she had returned from Morocco and wanted to know if I wanted some practice in listening to Italian. She was going to a meeting of students who were interested in studying Arabic at an adult education location near me. I was amazed at what I understood. They were deciding when to meet and where.  Just as they agreed upon 5:30 to 7:30 every
Wednesday, the director came in and said that class wouldn’t be held unless they had 12 students. They only had 5.  They were going to try to drum up more students from their friends. Then the mother of the Arabic teacher gave a pitch for a yoga class she was teaching. I confirmed all this with Elisa later. It was very satisfying to be understanding so much. This seems to be a first step for me. It is the same way that children learn a language.

Elisa and I walked (dawdled) along the street leading back to my street. We stopped in at various shops, sat and had a spritz, and then went to the fancy shop called Rizzo, where I went a few weeks ago, for me to get bread, olives, and cheese. She showed me various typical Venetian cookies and treats, but said to buy them at the Billa, where they would surely be cheaper.

She cleared up an incorrect notion that I wrote about here. The shared electricity bill was only for the stairway lighting, not the whole electricity bill for the month. That makes more sense. She gave me her share to reimburse my neighbor, Bruna, who I haven’t written about yet, but who is a university professor and lives downstairs.

After I feasted on the olives, large and green, and sweet gorgonzola cheese and bread baked with olives inside, I called Bruna and went downstairs to give her the money. She invited me to stay and watch a volleyball match between Italy and France. We  watched the match, talked about our lives, had chamomile tea, and black licorice liqueur. A very nice evening and day.

I open some time

Walking around I am constantly seeing things that interest or surprise me.

Sometimes signs or names of products:

The yellow sign says that you can get to San Marco and Rialto by going in either direction. Last year this would really have frustrated me, as I was navigating completely by these yellow signs. This year I just laugh. My “Streetwise Venice” map is my trusty buddy.

 I thought this sign on the door of a store said volumes.

These two names of stores amused me. Camicia means shirt and the ending “issima” is a superlative, like buonissima. Is this the “shirtiest” store?  It actually had piles and piles of shirts inside with some ties and some slipover sweaters. I like languages that are playful.

And here is another superlative:

I like the name of the detergent that was in my flat for the washing machine:

I love the idea of lavender boy energy working on cleaning my clothes!

Sometimes it is something that I think is a good idea. Outside the apartment of Rachel’s boyfriend Davide’s parents is a covered rack for shoes. How much nicer than pairs of shoes taking up space in the hallway or porch.

In case people have to wait a long time for the vaporetto, or if the ride is a long one, a rack of free literature on many different subjects is available in many of the vaporetto stops. I took one on poetry because I thought that might be easy to translate. The name “subway” on it must mean that they have these where there are actually subways too.

I had read about these, but the description wasn’t good enough to tell me what these things were for, hiding in various corners of the city. Until I had a male friend with me who pointed out that they were deterrents. Anything aimed in their direction would come right back at the aimer. Here are a few varieties. The first one is right around the corner from my building.

Here is a solution for mooring boats without having to apply for permits and paying rent. There is even an outdoor grill in this “backyard.”

Here is the way the electricity bill is shared in my building. This sign was put up on the door a few days ago. It seems low to me, but the bill was 49.20 euro for the month and there are 7 different living quarters in the building. Some are larger than others, but it seems they share the bill equally. I guess there is 1 euro for handling. Each pays 7.20 euros and checks their name off the list.

You can buy fruit and vegetables in many places around town. There are various stands around town, either in a market like the Rialto, or in neighborhood plazas. There are also stores and supermarkets, like the Billa. But this is my favorite. I heard that it has been there for many years. It makes sense when Anna told me that most of the stores like that in neighborhood plazas are now tourist stores with Venice souvenirs.

I wondered if they felt safe enough after all this trouble.

I hadn’t thought about traffic lights, since there are no cars in Venice. Then someone showed me this one. There are actually three near each other in this apparently dangerous area. This was taken at night.

Here is something I found in the shop window of a children’s clothing store. Very spiffy.

This was surprising as I was taking a long boat trip along the Grand Canal. The Scottish couple sitting next to me said that the objects change often. We hadn’t spoken until this came into view and I couldn’t keep quiet when I saw it. We ended up having a nice long conversation and I almost missed my stop. They also pointed out the car next to the building, probably the only one in Venice.

And last are some lovely treats I saw in the window of one of the many tempting shops like these along almost every street. First is clam and shrimp marzapane.

And last is a kiss on a gondola, (baci in gondola) in the tray at the top of the picture.