Per l’Amore di Dio! (Venetian classics and oddities)

I'm looking back at the last 24 hours and ticking off the themes that are permanently linked, in my mind, to Venice.

What’s a Venetian classic? From last night, I can recall a bellini (prosecco + white peach coulis) before dinner.

a bellini with Italian olives at the side.. 

And what struck me as a peculiarity? for the love of God, taking your dog to church! True, occasionally there’ll be a sign posted, in the form of a puppy with a red slash through it. But I have seen dogs trottin’ down toward the altar (with owners, of course). These are not my churches nor religions, but doesn’t that just seem wrong?

Another classic, from this morning – sunrise over the lagoon. I got up again to see this. The back yard of the “professor’s house” (that is where we’re staying) stretches all the way to the lagoon and so it did not take me long to drag myself to the water’s edge. I was rewarded with this:

a Venetian sunrise over the lagoon

Peculiarities? I wonder why this person had use for so many cooking forms (they were drying on the window sill this morning)?

must've been quite a party...

This morning I was sniffing out certain well-known art collections. Take note of the two horses out front, belonging to Peggy Guggenheim’s vast estate. Bold, beautiful, ready to leap into the Grand Canal.

What’s odd is that I have become crotchety. A young girl straddled one of them and would not get off. Okay, so they are a piece of art and the mother was standing by listlessly. But did it warrant my audible “thank you!” when the attendant asked her to get down?

Or, how about when I saw an older man using a camcorder in a church, even though the sign clearly indicated this was not permitted. Why did I walk by and mutter a “tut tut”? Next thing you know, I’ll be poking little tykes with a stick if they’re in my way and kicking dogs that are annoying.

Peggy's garden horses 

Blueberry ice-cream with whipped cream at Nico’s, overlooking the Gudecca Canal – wonderful. But, am I scarfing down all these? Is that normal? (Answer: they were not all mine, I promise!)

a mid-afternoon pick-me-up 

Nobody will deny that musicians can always pick up extra cash in Europe by playing on street corners. But what if you find yourself in Venice and you haven’t the musical competence to play anything well enough? You might try dancing, with a hat strategically placed for a donation.

tango your way to cash 

These are an interesting addition to the souvenir stalls this year. When you see one in my office, you’ll know where it came from (actually they were made in Hungary; that's close enough).

they add color and playfulness to alleys, passages and campi 

On the last night in Venice, tradition has it that one should go to St. Mark’s, spend money on that last drink and listen to the music from the competing cafés. But in the last couple of years, at least some of the cafés have not been able to attract customers. Why? Because Venice is sinking and in portions of the greatest square on earth you are likely to see not so much people swaying to the music, but this:

In places, the water at night is ankle-deep 

That’s too sad for a last post from here (tomorrow I leave for Umbria). I should end my Venice notes with a classic from today: a lonely gondola on the Grand Canal at sunset.

Is he singing as he punts into the sunset?