Buongiorno Venezia

I am often asked when is the best time to visit. I recommend visiting Venice between Carnival and Easter. Luxury hotels along the Grand Canal are giving interesting discounts…. and the weather is pretty good. Fateci un pensierino - give a little thought to this…

Check the present weather forecasts

maybe it’s because i am such a last minute traveller and a fast planner when i travel for leisure: i am always delighted when people asking me about snow and rain and acqua alta when we are all sweating to death in july. or when i’m ask for the 2009 or 2010 pricing list for our services (isn’t is like mortgaging future?)  but you are the right one, you must plan well in advance. just remember that venice is spiteful: not all can be planned, and surprise is part of the show.
one thing that you cannot plan - and not even forecast, my dear - is the weather. you cannot forecast acqua alta year by year whatever they say: a general trend can be observed, but forget to know today what the weather will be like on November 1st, say. ACCEPT THIS! for instancw, in years we experienced acqua alta some days in september october november december january february march april may.. did i forget something?
anyway: high tide lasts only for some hours a day. if you avoid the lower areas (around st mark’s) it’s nearly ok. do not get impressed when  reading “tide = 100 cms”, this is from the sea level. high tide  very rarely comes up over the knee in most areas (if it does come higher, we all may be in very serious trouble).

there are rubber boots sold here in winter which solve the problem. so: be prepared for possible rainy and windy days, and possible tide, but remember this is not alaska.  and there’s a wonderful webpage where you can read more: http://www.veniceword.com/weather.com

the quantity of sp.m messages we receive is.. insane. unpublished, obviously. mentioning the Hilton worsened things, it looks like the little Paris has got a lot of fans not only for her  music.

venice is getting nearly as hot as the Sahara desert. a hat is highly recommended when you stroll during the warmest time of the day (around 1-2 p.m). i walked and sweated in order to reach a little “osteria” i hadn’t visited for years. and there it was, near campo S.Giovanni e Paolo, (Venice’s main hospital), “Osteria da A….”. (still wondering whether to type in its full name or not): it was still looking very typical and old fashioned, looking family-run, the place you feel like at home and where you expect a cheap bill. I breathed with relief, had a fish and some grilled vegetables, heard of tons of reservations made by phone thru a couple of hotels’ concierges. I hated that, it sounded like an alarm. Well, 25 euro was an exaggeration for what i had, supposing the food would have been better. i was so disappointed, not for the money but because i had such a good memory of the place. i made a point to open a personal “black list”, and i’ sorry to say this deserves listing in spite of the personnel’s kindness. btw, it’s 4 a.m. as you can see, i had not an easy digestion. Always give people a second chance, but listen to me, do not trust concierges too much, next time..

he’s foolish, he’s amusing. he plays the inexperienced (and dangerous) magician, and the audience love it. Mago Casanova is a character launched by a popular Italian tv programme on Canale 5, and today he came back to venice after his first visit as a “special reporter” with his troupe, investigating if the Venice municipality had kept its promises to restore some bridges in peril. “The cracks we had filmed in our previous reportage have been fixed, i’m satisfied: it’s like magic, thanks to our show “Striscia la Notizia” he said with a smile. We exchanged business cards. Mine disappeared in his hands, in a well done trick.

not only the Pisa tower is leaning. Venice has its own leaning towers

the Church of Santo Stefano clock tower is the most evident example - you can takethe best pics when you stay in Campo S.Anzolo ankeep the bell tower in the background… with some worries; you may experience the impulse of imforming the parish priest of some immediate danger.. he knows about it, be sure and the danger is not immediate at all.

No dubt, it leans, and since 2000 the Venice Art Superintendence has been investigating the process. Tomorrow 13 April a conference open to public will illustrate how the tower is being restored and monitored; the meeting is organized at the Parish Church in Sagrestia Maggiore, Campo S.Stefano, 5 PM. Free entrance.
More in our next Buongiorno Venezia

upon kind request, i am starting a new thread about “bag sellers”. i’m sure this request refers to streets vendors who display their goods on the ground, along the streets (calli) or on bridges. quite a shocking view when you get to venice especially for the first time.obviously this business is illegal, but so spread (and well organized, and not only in venice but all over italy) that the officers have a hard time stopping it. the numbers: sellers are more and more, officers come in 2 or 3 per inspection. and there is a net of “sentinels” who inform bag sellers via cell phone if inspectors are in sight. so it is virtually impossible to catch them.

it must be added that some vendors have a regular business permit as “ambulante” (itinerant seller), which they display, and pay an annual fee. in the majority of cases, they do not have such permits.

an advertising campaign in various languages set by the Comune di Venezia and Chamber of Commerce informs people that buying from these vendors is very often a way to reinforce criminal organizations that exploit immigrants, instead of a way to help immigrants. Buyers can be fined: if you buy a Gucci’s bag for — say — 10.00 euro in the street, you are aware that there must be something wrong. Really wrong.

What a bright Easter week-end we had in Venice, apart from some morning clouds. 120,000 tourists in Venice last Saturday (though showers were expected: but “never trust what tv says!” (have a look at online weather forecasts instead).

so you may wonder what do venetians do during the Easter week-end. Tradition has it all over italy to have a big big big lunch on Sunday (Easter=Pasqua) and a picnic in the meadows on Lunedì dell’Angelo (also called Pasquetta=”little Pasqua”, Easter Monday). Pasqua’s typical food is lamb (for the ones who like it) despite its meaning as a Christian symbol. btw. never understood why one should celebrate the resurrection of Christ, called the “Lamb of God”, and grill the poor animal a few hours later.

Another symbol at our tables is the egg, in a much less violent celebration though it produces some side effects: someone buys you (or you buy yourself) chocolate egg(s); you break the chocolate egg(s), find surprise present(s) in, eat the chocolate and immediately decide it’s time to put yourself on a diet (the more the chocolate, the stricter the diet. if you stick to the diet, it may be a re-birth; if not, it’s pure cholesterol storing).

The following day - Easter Monday the sense of sin keeps you busy counting calories, so you go picnic in the Riviera del Brenta, visiting public villas or visiting friends (thank you Enrico), or decide it’s time for jogging or rowing, or simply enjoy a lazy day. Aprile dolce dormire, sleeping is so sweet in April… such a lazy month, and from now on it’s one of the best times of the year to visit Venice - not so expensive, by the way…

spent nearly the whole day in rice fields today. not far from venice… i’ll tell you more about this later on. it rained and rained in past days, the brown clods were soaked in the very moring., when the sunshine began warming the earth up, the water slowly evaporated, and you could see transparent clouds a few centimeters above the earth, all over. but the most impressive thing was the total silence, as no one works in the fields in this season.

had risi e tastasale  for lunch. well, this is not for vegans…

i lost count of the kilometres i walk in venice. even if i try to plan my day the more efficiently i can, i happen to cross the city 2 to 4 times a day, from piazzale roma to castello and sometimes more. i hate waiting at the vaporetto stops (our wintertime is being very mild, but in the early morning you feel humidity going up your nostrils), so i prefer give my feet the privilege to express themselves. they bring me everywhere quite fast, provided that i wear the right shoes. comfortable and with very low heel. I prefer to change them on the way if i have a “formal dress” occasion. besides a second pair of  stocking — which is not ununsual to find in the venetian “perfect lady”’s handbag, don’t be surprised to see her carrying another bag with rubber booths against acqua alta or the elegant touch for a meeting. and on the opposite, conveert from pin heels to sneakers, and you’ll feel another. you need comfortable shoes - and open mind, and a lot of patience - to walk in venice.

Depeche Mode’s Walking in my Shoes

from Songs of Faith and Devotion

I would tell you about the things they put me through
The pain I’ve been subjected to
But the Lord himself would blush
The countless feasts laid at my feet
Forbidden fruits for me to eat
But I think your pulse would start to rush

Now I’m not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You’ll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes

Morality would frown upon
Decency look down upon
The scapegoat fate’s made of me
But I promise now, my judge and jurors
My intentions couldn’t have been purer
My case is easy to see
I’m not looking for a clearer conscience
Peace of mind after what I’ve been through
And before we talk of any repentance
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes
You’ll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes
If you try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes

Now I’m not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes