Venice in winter 02/09 trip

[Jon Savage]

I first came to Venice in December 1981 while visiting my then girlfriend (later wife and ultimately ex) in Austria. She dragged me there despite my reluctance to go due to the overwhelming Saccharine sweet cliché that is Venice. 19 years old; w/o a pot to piss in. $150 budget for three days in Venice incl. the cheapest hotel we could find. Suffice to say I also learned that a 4 course meal in what appeared to be a hole in the wall can really torpedo one's budget during that visit. Still I fell in love with Venice- her reality far exceeds any cliché especially if one is willing to wander just a few meters off the beaten path.

As it turned out my relationship with the city far outlasted the one with her. I was and remain enthralled by this city. I was fortunate to be able to visit frequently during the '80s while I was living in Austria. I moved back to the US in1990 and took a 14 year hiatus mostly due to having taken a great many financial steps backward when I returned to California. Nothing like a recession to put the brakes on any number of plans. Fast forward to 2004 when I returned to Venice with my wife Carrie for a little over a week- since then we've been back three times and will endeavor to do so for the foreseeable future.

We booked this trip mid December since we had cash to pay for it and it seems that this is a great time to travel assuming one has steady income and the means to pay for it. The fact that we are here during Carnivale is purely accidental; we just looked at our calendars and picked a window that worked out for us both. Generally speaking I avoid this period like the plague since the omnipresent tipsy tourist lunacy is only magnified this time of year. Still, Winter is my absolute favorite time to visit Venice.

Our last stay unexpectedly was in an apartment (the hotel said “you are here for 10 days why not stay in one of our apartments?”). Tough choice- small hotel room with iffy hot water vs. a 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and an altana, a sort of rooftop deck/balcony that I believe is peculiar to Venice. Obviously a no-brainer to take the apartment. That trip was fantastic despite the fact that we kind of lost track of what day it was and managed to miss our flight home altogether. So we had a “bonus” day to enjoy which cost us 1,200 Euro each in airfare plus an extra night in the apartment. Worth every penny really! (ouch)

The apartment we had last time was unavailable but adding “apartment” as a search criteria on expedia worked out just fine (more on that later).

I've decided to put an account of this trip up mostly because I've been dying to write about Venice for years and hopefully won't bore you all to death with my ramblings. I'll probably not be posting on real time instead updating every couple of days as time allows. There will be a few pictures; few if any *in* restaurants most taken with my Iphone which is a blessing and a curse- the camera is low res and sometimes has interesting artifacts due, I believe, to slow shutter speed. I'll be tweeting as well- feel free to look me up on twitter (jonsavage).

I'll also be not naming names for the most part as far as eating/drinking establishments are concerned. I'm a firm believer in the “figure it out as you go” school of thought and feel that targeting one place over another without foreknowledge unselfearned is folly. Instead I prefer a random walk stopping only where a place “calls out” to me.

Screwy logic at best I know. Still this has served me well for a bit and applies even to where myself and friends from work have lunch. Think beginners mind and you'll be on the right track.

Thanks for reading; any EG folk that might be in the neighborhood please also feel free to give me a shout via PM if you want to grab an umbra or whatever with us (usual disclaimers and EG legalese apply).

Day 1 13-14 Feb (lost 8 hours in transit).

0300 wake up – off to freaking work but glad to have a job especially in this economy.

1000 Carrie picks me up in a taxi and off to LAX we go, Free at last!

LAX is showing its age. The last major renovations I recall happened in preparation for the 1984 Olympics so traffic and passenger volumes are increased straining what infrastructure is there. I hate flying not due to fear but rather as a result of not being able to move around much for 10+ hours at a stretch.

We go checked in with mercifully short lines. Maybe Friday the 13th is a good day to fly or perhaps the current recession is really making a difference as far as discretionary travel is concerned. We did a little duty-free shopping and were happy to discover that there was Udon available in the int'l terminal. While not haute cuisine it certainly represents a refreshing alternative to most other airport food.

We found free wireless at LAX as well and duly got our last EZ internet fix for the next 2 weeks. Internet access in Venice is spotty at best but is improving (more on that later). 2 or three cocktails later we grabbed a quick smoke and braved our way through security. This line was also the shortest I've experienced since 9/11. The TSA folks were actually really friendly (is that a good thing?) and after a brief crisis when the conveyer belt inside the scanner thingie ate my wife's glasses we were finally on our way.

The flight itself was uneventful and boring in the extreme. We arrived in Frankfurt with almost 2 hours to spare and were pleased to find Camel sponsored smoking spots (sort of like a well ventilated aquarium). Nicotine fix resolved we went through passport control and got tagged for excess cigarettes to the tune of 3.80 Euro/pack. Good thing he did not look in my carrry on bag 'cos the cigars nesteled in it would have probably gotten expensive as well. We found our gate and grabbed another smoke prior to boarding.

Those smoking booths are kind of odd in that there is a very subdued atmosphere in them with very little if any conversation taking place. I felt tempted to ape a monkey in a glass cage but (fortunately) my wife suggested that that would probably not be a good idea. Still the temptation to do so remains strong; perhaps I will be able to get away with such behavior in a few more years when I reach a certain age. in any case the atmosphere in the cubes was funereal at best (puns intended).

We arrived at VCE right on time, no more passport controls oddly enough, and made our way to the water taxis/Alilaguna. The Alilaguna service runs frequently and runs around 13 Euro, quite the bargain as compared to the motoscarfi where the going rate is 95 Euro. We like the Alilaguna as we can ease our way back into the city with hardly a ripple. The weather was beautiful in the way that only a Venetian Winter can have.

Approaching Venice.

Eventually we arrived at Arsenale where we were to meet the apartment person at 1630. When we reserved the apartment the language was non-specific, only allowing us to choose the general area it would be in and also some amenities. We chose Castello because that district is a little less crazy than say San Marco or San Polo and generally seems more sane and down to earth. We'd stayed there before as well so had a reasonable comfort level re: getting around, supermarkets bars etc. as well.

1630 came and went. No sign of our apartment contact. A few minutes later my phone rang and it turned out Giulia was at the other Arsenale stop. We sorted ourselves out and walked to the apartment which was just 50m away. The stairs were a bit of a challenge after having been awake for 28 hours;– the apartment is on the 3rd floor (2nd for american readers) – the stairs are a straight excruciatingly steep shot. Coming home twisted or leaving the apartment even slightly tipsy for that matter is clearly not a safe option unless we wish to test the limits of our health insurance. Imagine a gangway up the side of a container ship at high tide and you get the idea.

The apartment itself is lovely. 4 burner stove with adequate BTUs to do the job and a nice externally vented hood. A dishwasher (why?) but no oven. Guess I'll be braising rather than roasting this trip.

Some apt. rental paperwork completed we took a quick inventory of what was on hand in the flat and ventured out to buy some groceries before the stores closed for the day. Markets are generally closed on Sunday's here so this was a fairly important task. My knife roll made the trip intact so +1 to luck.

We headed down a random street; a few moments later we were at the coop market I knew from our last trip and stocked up on a few essentials (Havana Club Anejo Riserva (a rare and illegal treat for US citizens), pasta, coffee, bread, cheese, Vino Novello (kinda late I know but I love this wine and it was on sale, garlic, eggs and some assorted salumi to tide us over until Monday. On the way back I noticed a new bulk wine store where wine is very nearly cheaper than water. At 2 Euro on average per liter they have several varieties of very passable table wines. Apropos table wine- don't discount the 1-2 Euro tetra pack per liter stuff until you've tried it. Yet another reason to love this place.

Funny thing is I get lost everywhere but in Venice. I'm capable of losing my way while on the way home from work just a 3.7 mile drive but here I never do. Odd since I don't lose my way in the one place I really should. To balance that out my wife never loses her way at home frequently runs into a spot of bother here. Go figure.

We were both starting to feel wiped out and grabbed a bite at a place on on the waterfront right by the Aresnale vaporetto stop. The food was OK but not memorable but then again it was not the sort of place we'd normally eat at and it certainly fulfilled its purpose. We fell into bed and I hoped that having been awake for the better part of 30 hours would ensure that I'd not be up at 0 dark thirty and wandering the streets as I am wont to do here. Don't get me wrong I love wandering around when the city is asleep but sleep is a good thing.

More to follow tomorrow. I'm already 4 days behind (writing this on the afternoon of 18 Feb.).

The view from our apartment on the evening of our arrival.

[PopsicleToze]

Sounds like a great start to the trip. I know what you mean about the smoking booths -- I was happy to find one after flying all day -- but it was a bit strange.

Looking forward to reading more about your adventure.

How is the flood situation in Venice?

[Jon Savage]

Sounds like a great start to the trip.  I know what you mean about the smoking booths -- I was happy to find one after flying all day -- but it was a bit strange.

Looking forward to reading more about your adventure. 

How is the flood situation in Venice?

←

The flooding ls largely seasonal. Oct-Nov-December generally the worst and only then when there's a high high tide in conjunction with the wind blowing the wrong direction. This can be further worsened by a low pressure system over the area.

Everything is high and dry at the moment

[Jon Savage]

Day 2 – New Beginnings and old friends

We woke up to a beautiful morning at a reasonable hour.

We had a minor crisis with the mokapot which was missing its screen but cowboy coffee is better than

no coffee. I made us a few eggs and checked mail on my phone. I also threw the mokapot part in my bag since parts are generally available.

The view from our Loggia:

As it turned out A., a friend I had not seen in over 20 years was able to come and meet us in Venice later that afternoon. We agreed to meet by Arsenale later in the day.

Fortified with excellent eggs (Italian eggs even the ones from the supermarket are significantly better than the ones I buy at home) we made or way over to Via Garibaldi where we hoped to find a sunny spot to have some coffee.

We did find a bar, and, wonder of wonders there was an unsecured wifi point that we could connect to somewhere on the street. The connection was kind of flaky but beggars can't be choosers and we were happy to have a coffee or two and enjoy the morning.

We met A. at Arsenale and had a great visit. It is always interesting to meet friends again after a long time – sometimes it works out well other times less so. We grabbed some dinner and simply enjoyed the moment.

Catching up on the last 20 years with her was truly interesting and like any good Italian story it involved romance, tragedy and, in this case, ultimately triumph.

Carrie and I got back to our flat around 1800 and we soon settled in with our books and a glass of wine for the evening. Towards that latter part of the evening I checked my email and discovered that my grandmother had passed away early that same morning. That was sad but not unexpected news.

I had no immediate need to fly back since she'd specified no services and, in any case, there are far worse places to mourn than Venice in winter.

[Jon Savage]

Day 3-4 – Venezia e un pesce, Trieste, cicheti

More eggs for breakfast and another beautiful clear sunny day,

We set out to Via Garibaldi to do some shopping and also of course to get a caffee coretto (con grappa). The wifi was gone so maybe it was just a dream after all. Found another email from A. on my phone asking if we'd like to meet her in Trieste the following day. My wife is a marine biologist and A. has a friend, also a marine biologist, that works at the Parco Maritimo at Mirimare. I sent A. a note saying we'd look forward to seeing her again too.

First stop was the vegetable boat where we bought some excellent tomatoes (sicily), a head of local Radicchio (chiogga) and some pears that looked really nice. Stopped at the saulmeria for 200 grams of Giancale some of which was destined to become part of spaghetti carbonara for dinner.

We went to a different coop to buy a little mozz and a new part for the mokapot and meandered back to the apartment.

It is Carnivale after all

There's a fairly recent little book out “Venice is a Fish a sensual guide” by venetian poet Tiziano Scarpa. It is a good read and well worth owning if you have even a passing interest in this city. The graffiti of course refers to the book's Italian title. It also makes for nifty wallpaper for my laptop.

We headed out to the gardens by San Marco to purchase our Venice cards. These are great to have and include 3 or 7 days of local transport and optionally free entrance to many of the museums in Venice. With a Vaporetto ride costing nearly 6 Euro a trip the cards quickly pay for themselves.

My wife had been wanting to have a drink @ Harry's Bar for several trips so we finally went inside. It could be 1920 inside the bar, the only modern things there are the cash register and the smoke detectors in the ceiling. Cocktails were 12 Euro and up; not terrible but we opted for caffee coretto instead.

While drinking our coffee we got hold of the lunch menu and did the “what would we order for lunch game”. We figured 3 courses, no dessert and a bottle of wine with the items we chose would have ended up well north of 400 Euro. Yikes. Then again Harry's is not for those with slender wallets.

It was nice to see the inside of that bar though but for me, much like a gondola ride, once is quite sufficient.

We headed off to a nice little bookstore on the Castello side of San Marco that we always shop at and purchased 6 books to tide us over for the next few days. An internet point (Venetian Navigator) was nearby and we discover that they were now offering wifi access (12 Euro 24 hours usage) at several spots around town. We purchased that and wandered off towards Campo S. Maria Formosa where we knew there were sunny cafes and also a wifi Point for Venetian Navigator.

The new system works great and they are adding more points all of the time. 12 Euro for 24 hours is a great deal since its not for a single 24 hour period but rather for 24 hours of actual usage.

While internet connectivity is not essential to my happiness and not required while on vacation it is certainly nice to have some connectivity.

After catching up on the interwebs and the world at large for a bit we headed back towards our apartment. We stopped at a tiny bar very close to the apartment we stayed in last time. A glass of wine or two and some cicheti later we went back to the apartment for a siesta.

The Bar:

We slept way too long and just made ourselves some caprese salad and a little bread w/ prosciutto and assorted cheeses for dinner and then retired for the evening.

I woke up at 0300 unable to sleep. Jetlag perhaps or maybe just too long of a nap the day before.

Spent a few hours reading and sipping (now the mokapot was functioning) espresso.

Fried up some potatoes, more of those luscious eggs and we soon needed to get ready to go to the train station and be on our way to Trieste.

0500

just after sunrise:

We took the number 42 to the train station – a decent choice since it goes 'round the back way via Guideca and approaches the train station without navigating the Grand Canal at all. The latter part of the trip skirts around the edges of the port which would be fairly familiar to anyone who watched the recent Venice episode of No reservations.

The ride to Trieste was fine, I've always enjoyed traveling by train and this trip was no exception.

A. met us at the train station in Trieste with her friend S.. S's car was parked in a manner that would make any Italian proud- so little clearance either side that she had to shoehorn herself into the back seat and climb into the front of the car from there.

We drove to Mirimare, toured the palace a bit and went off in a bit of a hurry because as it turned out we were late for our lunch reservation.

Mirimare is itself beautiful and also tragic. My eyes do tend to glaze over a bit when confronted with Austro-Hungarian empire architecture though – perhaps as a result of having spent so much time in Austria.

We found a parking spot near the restaurant. The trattoria itself was well and truly slammed with the (local) lunch rush so we had a bit of a wait for our table. The wait was made more friendly with a glass of prosecco and we soon were seated.

The menu was fairly typical of Trieste showing strong Austrian influence. After a brief and heated exchange between the waiter and A. in Italian (I'm pretty sure it included the words “dumbsass” and “late for your res”) we ordered our food. The food was stunning. My wife had tripe (which I even liked). I opted for Gulasch, A. had a dish that involved ham, horseradish and mashed potatoes while S. had a roasted pork loin basted with a generous amount of clarified butter. A great meal and somewhat atypical of “Italian” food but very appropriate for this locale. The food was fantastic.

We headed back to the train station; thanking both A. & S. for the day and promptly fell asleep on the train. I awoke just as the train was leaving Mestre and very much enjoyed the ride into Venice via the causeway.

We decided to walk back to our flat instead of taking the vaporetto. Part of this plan involved stopping for cicheti (think Venetian tapas) at one or more places along the way. The first place we stopped at had morphed into a high end wine bar since our last visit so we gave it a pass. The second was still there and open; we enjoyed 2 small glasses of wine there and a few different small bites. The selection was smaller than usual and to be expected in places like this later in the day,

We meandered on into Castello and found a couple of places we'd never been in before, the first had a great selection of cicheti and a full menu as well. The cicheti were truly excellent and the food being served there looked and smelled so good that we made a reservation for Saturday night since a friend from Geneva will be joining us for a couple of days starting on Friday.

Another place we stopped at had the best sarde en saor I've ever tasted. We stopped at a few more places as well, uniformly good and not at all pricey. Most places we'd have several snacks and a 2 small glasses of wine and the average tab was in the 4-8 Euro range for the two of us.

We often wonder why it is that people think of Venice as being so terribly expensive to visit. Granted we are not doing fine dining and will be doing some of our own cooking. Still most of the ostereias and trattorias we see are no more expensive than we'd pay eating out @ home (mid-range stuff, no chains but also rarely any fine dining).

Of course if you choose to have your coffee on La Piazza San Marco rather than 100 meters away then it will not cost you 1.20 Euro (or whatever the going rate is). Venice is amazingly affordable and even uncrowded a surprisingly short way from the obligatory “sights”. I love La Piazza as much as anyone but tend to avoid it except for very early in the morning when most are still asleep.

On the way back to the flat we decided that the only way to make cicheti better would be to do more things a la minute and perhaps elevate the ingredient choices a bit. Not fusion, not departing from tradition but rather just making or serving everything in a unique way. Stay tuned for the rest of that story – it seems that there is a young chef here who has in fact executed that vision already.

Well and truly sated we then called it a day

[Jon Savage]

Days 5 -6 Rialto; clams duck and such

We had a quick cup of coffee and set out at about 0730 for Rialto. Yet another beautiful day- I think we have been lucky with the weather so far this trip since it rained almost every day for the 3 weeks prior to our arrival.

Boarded the number 1 vaporretto @ arsenale – that line stops @ every stop on the grand canal and is great for a poor mans tour of the grand canal. The boat was packed with commuters with few tourists on board. I reckon most were still sleeping off the excesses of the prior night's revelry.

en route:

The Rialto market was uncrowded and, as always, chock full of good things to eat.

We took a quick spin around the markets and stalls just to get an idea of what looked good.

The dilemma was that everything looked good. There's also a great poultry shop which had some really good looking fowl, noted the duck for future reference.

One of the truly great benefits to renting a flat is that you are no longer a voyeur and can actually partake of this bounty.

One thing I find interesting about the fish market is that almost everything there is labeled with location of take (lat/long) method of take, Latin Name, common name and with locally caught items having the additional label of “nostrano” (ours).

Now that our initial reconnaissance of the market was concluded we both were in need of a snack. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a shop that was unfamiliar; a closer look revealed that it was Pronto Pesce- the second stop on Bourdain's cicheti crawl in the recent Venice episode of No Reservations. Truthfully I was not purposely seeking it out at all and actually got the impression that Pronto Pesce was somewhat removed from Rialto rather than smack in the thick of things.

We went into the shop and urgently needed to try some of their cicheti. These were beautifully prepared with an almost Japanese aesthetic. For the most part traditional ingredients and flavor combinations simply and perfectly done, with a few twists on traditional themes. In speaking with Bruno (owner/partner) I asked if he'd seen an increase in business lately due to No Reservation's in Venice having just aired. He said that he'd had a number of folks come in referencing the show and seemed a little perplexed. He had no idea who that man who came into his shop with his friend Gigi and the camera was.

I had that episode on my laptop (with a spare Itunes authorization) and gave him a copy. Bruno and Chef Umberto were entranced by their segment and watching them watch it made us smile. We had another few bites, Umberto disappeared back into the kitchen only to reappear a while later with a perfectly prepared plate of cuttlefish in ink on polenta. The dish was gobsmackingly good.

The place is relatively new; it opened in November 2007 a few weeks after our last trip to Venice.

The shop itself was formerly a pescheria that had been disused for several years. Bruno said that they were trying to evoke the sense of being in a pescheria even after the renovation. The walls are covered in subway tiles and the overall feel is nicely uncluttered and modern without being too modern.

They also have a fair amount of items meant to take home and eat. While we were there several locals came in and purchased one dish or another (even bringing in their own casseroles in some cases). It is nice to see a new place in Venice that is doing its own thing well and not falling into the “lets just cater to tourists” or “lets make cicheti like every other place in Venice” trap. I did take a couple of pictures inside of Pronto Pesce. When we left, Bruno was showing his friends the video on his laptop behind the counter.

I purchased a kilo of clams for our dinner and threw them into my messenger bag. A sojourn on Campo S. Maria Formosa followed. We caught up on our email and such and wandered back to the apartment to warm up.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon writing while my wife took a nap. Dinner was the clams we bought at the market with a little guanciale.

Before:

Artistically plated:

The aftermath:

The next day we woke up around 0700; had a quick espresso or three and decided to walk to Rialto to do a little foraging and of course a little snack @ Pronto Pesce. The walk was beautiful, La Piazza was as close to empty as it ever gets. I made a beeline for the poultry store and procured a “small” duck breast (nearly 1 kg).

While at Pronto Pesce Bruno told us the story of the 4th bridge across the Grand Canal that had only recently been finished. The gist of the story was that the Venetians don't like the new bridge at all. It is only a short distance away from the bridge @ the train station (thus unnecessary) and cost an enormous amount of money that could have been better spent elsewhere in the city. It seems that the project was pushed through by Benneton who had purchased or optioned (this was not entirely clear) some property one side of where the bridge was to be built with the intention of building a sort of shopping center there. The project fell through so now there is a bridge to nowhere.

The bridge is quite beautiful though. The st

ructural elements esp. the sides are evocative of the muscular structure of a fish.

Bruno is also the lead guitarist for a blues band; they will play this Friday night and we are going to try to attend. He also pointed out which guy we should buy our fish from; coincidentally the same place we'd bought the clams the day before. Before leaving the market we stopped at his stand and I realized that he emphatically only sold local fish/shellfish which also explains why he had fewer offerings than most of the other vendors since not much is in season now.

I wanted some scampi to make an app for our dinner; his looked great. He was busily filleting some anchovies and I pointed out to Carrie that we'd better not interrupt him since he was probably a Fish Nazi and there are few things worse than hearing the words “NO FISH FOR YOU” on Rialto.

Levity aside, I'm sure he's more used to tourists taking pictures of his wares and moving on than he is to them buying anything. What followed was hilarious in its own right. He finished his task and asked what we wanted. My wife said 4 scampi please. He repeats back just 4 scampi??? Our response - “yes just four”. I wish I had captured the rolling of eyes that followed on video. The scampi were sublime and we look forward to buying more things from him. Perhaps I should get 6 scampi today (Friday AM 20th as I type this) since we have a friend arriving from Geneva today. He's bringing us some Foie Gras!

Just adjacent to the Rialto traghetto I spied a boat with several deep friers going and kilos and kilos of seafood just waiting to be turned into fritto misto. I've always felt that a place like this would be a wonderful thing indeed. For today at least my dream had come true, according to the signage this was either a Carnival thing or maybe just a Fat Thursday thing. Just to be safe we immediately queued up and had two portions and a vino bianco (5 Euro total). Quite possibly the best fritto misto of my entire life.

The cook had 4 vats of fat going (in a rocking boat just to make things more interesting) and was rotating each batch through all four. I'm pretty sure that he had them at differing temperatures.

We checked email etc at our usual campo and I started to feel really, really cold. The kind of cold you feel when your getting a fever. I fled back to the apartment and had a nap which did help a bit.

Dinner that night consisted of (4!) briefly sauteed scampi wrapped in a little guanciale, mozz and fresh tomato, Risotto made with a stock from the heads shells and claws of the scampi and sauteed duck breast with a basalmic/blood orange juice reduction sauce. It turned out well; ½ of the breast we purchased was somewhat excessive and probably would have served 4 but hey you only live once and besides I can only imagine the hilarity that would ensue if I asked poultry guy for just ¼ duck breast.

The risotto came out really well; a little pink perhaps because we only had red onion on hand. The flavor of the stock was fairly mild but served to add nice depth to the dish and a healthy whack of umami as well.

stocK:

Mise en place:

Plated (mad plating skills eh?)

Whew.... All caught up through yesterday. I hope that y'all have a little fun reading this. Next installments likely on Monday since we have company over the weekend.

[Jon Savage]

Fat Tuesday here and hopelessly behind on this. I'll try to fill out the rest of the trip when I get home this weekend.

[Pork Belly]

Thank you for the detail posts and wonderful photos of Venice. Beautifully sauteed duck breast; did it smoke up your kitchen? Looking forward to the write up on the rest of your trip. Every year, we spend April in our apartment in San Polo. Can't wait.

Edited February 25, 2009 by Pork Belly (log)

[Jon Savage]

Thank you for the detail posts and wonderful photos of Venice. Beautifully sauteed duck breast; did it smoke up your kitchen?  Looking forward to the write up on the rest of your trip. Every year, we spend April in our apartment in San Polo. Can't wait.

←

There is actually a decent externally vented hood .

Glad you are enjoying these posts. I'll freely admit I'm jealous that you have a flat here- we've been looking a bit and it seems we can get something (already restored) in Castello for <300,000 Euro or so. Not an immediate plan but something we've been thinking about for several years now.

Ash Wednesday and the city is returning to normal. We've really been lucky it has only rained once in the almost 2 weeks we've been here and today is another fine sunny day. About 10 C in the sun so very very pleasant.

I'm drinking a caffee coretto in Campo S. Maria Formosa at the moment since there is the conjunction of a sunny table and WiFI access here.

[hummingbirdkiss]

How wonderful you make me so hungry Jon! thank you for sharing sorry I did not see this sooner I have been away for a while

[Lindacakes]

Will there be more?

I'll be in Venice in a few weeks . . . Is there any where to buy interesting kitchen equipment, pots, etc.?

I love your fish porn.

[Jon Savage]

Will there be more?

Life has kind of gotten in the way since I got back- I'd like to add more and will try to do so

I'll be in Venice in a few weeks . . . Is there any where to buy interesting kitchen equipment, pots, etc.?

There are quite a few stores that seem to combine houswares and hardware. I was sorely tempted by a food mill this last trip but I've never really bought anything for the kitchen there with the exception of my pasta machine, purchased maybe in '83 (living a few hours away at the time so luggage was not an issue

I love your fish porn.

←1655010

[Jon Savage]

I apologize- Life got in the way of all of this. Here's a photograph of Marco the fish guy of 4 scampi fame several years later.

[Jon Savage]

We are Spending the 2nd half of November this year in Venezia. Any interest in a continuation?

[blue_dolphin]

Oh yes, please do continue.  I loved reading along last time.  I really enjoy visiting markets and I sadly plan lovely meals I can't possibly cook in a hotel so it was a treat to read about your experiences in Venice that incorporate the meals you prepared with local produce and dining with a "local" perspective as well.

[cakewalk]

Yes, please. I'm so glad you bumped this up. I'm going to Italy the first week in October. The trip is only a week, I'll be in Rome 4 days and Venice 3 days. First time in Italy. So reading this is a treat. Thank you!

[Shelby]

I missed this the first time.  I enjoyed the read!  So, yeah, take us along on your next trip

[FauxPas]

I'll echo what Shelby said. 

[Jon Savage]

So yeah... The next trip (or actually several trips later) is forthcoming latter 1/2 November thru early December this year (2017). . Any interest in following along? I enjoyed blogging that once upon a time & would like to think I have mise en place for another go. Up to y'alll. 

[cakewalk]

Absolutely!

[Jon Savage]

Yes. Thank you- I've been very remiss. I'll start a new topic tomorrow - Subject = most likely Venezia 2017 autumn like a moth to a flame redux. That suit?

[Shelby]

Can't wait!!!

[blue_dolphin]

Sounds like fun - a new trip to look forward to!

 

[kayb]

Got my travelogue glasses on and a glass of wine on the table. Looking forward to the trip.

 

[chefmd]

I was in Venice briefly few years ago.  It was winter time and bitterly cold.  Alternating shots of espresso and glasses of wine kept us warm (ish).  Can't wait to follow along with your travels!  Hopefully the weather will be nice.