Fa la nanna e la nanna faremo (go to sleep and then we can all go to sleep)

Finally! Venice.

I am indeed sleepy and tired and jet-lagged; and today was my first day on the continent; and the computer hook up at the hotel is ... awful. Still, I can manage a few plain and basic words and a few photos from the day.

And I have to say that a memorable flight brought me here because, from the time of my first boarding of a commercial plane from Warsaw to Sofia in 1959 ‘til now, I have never had a woman pilot (and the captain of the crew no less). Never. Thus today, when I heard a female voice on the loudspeaker (this is on the Paris – Venice flight), I was sure that we were hearing from a flight attendant. Of course. Shame on me. AND NO, THAT'S NOT FUNNY --SHE DID NOT MISS THE RUNWAY! Obviously she was the best of the best.

The hotel I’m in was once the residence of a biology professor at Padua University (sigh, how times have changed!). The place is in a corner of Venice where there are almost no tourists. Venice is like that: it has the grand, the spectacular, the magnificent and eye-catching sights and vistas like this:

It takes your breath away each time you see it 

take out the gondola and croon to the tourists on the Grand Canal 

…And then the gentle, subtle, everyday spaces like this:

two older women next to colorful boats 

around the corner from where I am staying... 

For me, there’s great joy in sitting for a long time contemplating the beauty of this:

there's a chocolate flavor, a nutty one, and lots of whipped cream 

the sun sets late, the dinners start even later...