Venice and Vicinity

Venice on Flickr

My Kingdom for a Bottle of Vin Santo

While approaching the Isle of Burano on Wednesday 05/09/07, noted for its museum and school of lace, we noticed the severely leaning tower as our guide told us that it is inspected and is completely safe. Once docked we strolled along in wonderment at Burano, also noted for its brightly painted houses, while around every corner another amazing and picturesque house, we beelined it towards the leaning tower of the San Martino church.Our guide had also told us of Golosessi, a specialty biscuit of Burano made is the shape of an "S" that are traditionally dipped in Vin Santo, a sweet wine.

" Into sweet Vin Santo wine, or thick hot chocolate they like to dip their ‘essi’ , shaped like the letter ‘S’, "

With the pastry shops everywhere along the main street it was easy finding the Golosessi, especially due to their unique shape. Not so much with the Vin Santo.
We couldn't remember the name and couldn't discern one bottle of wine from another, unlike Venice, this little island of locals aren't as quick with the English. Which is fine. I don't expect everyone in all corners of the world to speak my language. But it took us a couple of shops to find anyone either fluent or friendly enough to want to help us with the Vin. Walking out of one shop and into another we did find a very accommodating shopkeeper who knew just what we were looking for. We also picked up some Fritelle stuffed with chocolate and custard and in heaven ate them on the vaporetto back to the ship.

Laundry hanging out of virtually every lovely shutter-framed window,
the entire place smelled like freshly laundered linens. An absolute delight for all the senses. I would love to spend more time on Burano. Later this evening and back on the ship heading out of the lagoon toward the open seas, we opened our bag of Golosessis and dipped them into the sweet wine, and it was delicious. And more goodies await us.

Entering Venice by Taxi

Arriving in Venice on Sunday 05/06/07 we hopped the Alilaguna water bus from the airport to Venice. Once deposited on the dock at Piazza San Marco smack dab in the middle of the mid-day crowds we eventually found a taxi to take us to our hotel somewhere between the Piazza and the Rialto Bridge. The ride there took us to a canal leading right under the Bridge of Sighs. Once inside and onto the smaller canals of Venice we arrived at our hotel (Pensione al Gazzettino) our room with high ceilings, a Murano glass chandelier and a little balcony overlooked this:Boisterous during the day the gondoliers eventually put their crafts to sleep and its a quiet night.Upon waking up our first night at 1:30 in the morning we decided to go out for a walk. From Piazza San Marco we wound our way through the cobbled streets crossing bridges over quiet canals finding our way to the Grand Canal (taken from the Rialto Bridge).
For the next couple of days we crossed many bridges on our walks through the lovely cobbled streets. We got lost and found treasures at every turn.My sweetie standing on the bridge that crosses the canal to our hotel. Our little balcony is up on the left just above his head.It was a lovely trip and I want to return. I really loved one of the little islands we visited called Burano with the most beautiful brightly painted houses and laundry hanging from every window. Being there was like burying your face in fresh sheets just taken out of the dryer. We picked up some local pastries and sweet wine there, and of course took a ton of photos.

Taking It All In

Returning from our trip satiated with travel (and a bad cold) it is good to be home. While all of my photos prior to Monte Carlo are stuck on a laptop until I can extract them, I'll begin with the end of our Spring Holiday, our last days in Paris before coming home.

With so many things to do and see in Paris, how do you see the main attractions while still experiencing the city of light on a personal level? Somehow I believe we accomplished just that. First of all, our Hotel de Notre Dame was perfectly situated in the 5th Arrondissement. we woke up every morning with their continental breakfast delivered to our room, which came complete with a marvelous view of Notre Dame, illuminated at night for our pleasure. I'm sure Will got much better photos of the gargoyles, but I managed to get close enough to snap a few of them. So it was that on our final day we headed to the Tour Eiffel via the Metro. And after popping into a tobacco shop for a Cuban cigar and some beverages, we rounded a corner and there it was. As excited as we could be we headed for the monument, stepped under it's monstrous belly, and cutting through the labyrinthine lines at the ticket booths, crossed the street and found a shady patch of park to have our picnic and feed the pigeons.Once sufficiently grubbed we headed back under the Eiffel and took our place in the cue to get our tickets to the observation decks of the tower. The sun had spent some time this afternoon out from behind the clouds for our benefit but once we were grounded again and walking along the Parc du Champ de Mars it began raining again. We ducked under the canopy of trees that lined the park and by the time we made it to Rue Cler it was coming down pretty steady. We found a little shop and went inside to see if they carried umbrellas. We found two that suited us and as soon as we stepped outside and opened those umbrellas up, dang if the rain didn't just stop.

We wound our way back to the Metro and the Hotel de Notre Dame. That evening we had planned on taking the Metro to Montmartre which is situated on a hill that is supposed to have great views of Paris at night, but deciding that was too much effort (my cold had kicked in pretty good at this point) we changed the plan and went back to the Shakespeare and Co. book store with its own du Chat Noir, found a little cafe for dinner, where Will enjoyed that Cuban cigar, and had a lovely walk through the cobbled streets of Paris before retiring for the night. Our last night in Paris before coming home.

Tourists and Travelers

I like to think I'm a traveler, not a tourist. Something that a fellow travelling companion once said drew the line very clearly between a tourist and a traveler for me. Tourist's say things like. "I'm not eating at another restaurant unless the menu is in English." Why even bother leaving the country if everywhere you go you expect it to be just like the U.S.?

A traveler once said, "If you find something is not to your liking, change your liking." Travelers immerse themselves in the unfamiliar and relish the differences. I wouldn't say anyplace is bad, just different. And I wouldn't think of potentially offending someone with some thoughtless comment about their customs, their lifestyle, their country.

When travelling you just have to roll with it. There are going to be crowds (of tourists) who areloud and obnoxious, and who don't respect the land they are visiting, who are inconsiderate of those around them, and who think they are somehow more important than everyone else on the planet. I have little tolerance for these people, but I try not to let it affect me and my enjoyment of the experience I am their to have.

I'm sure what I am about to embark upon will not disappoint. It will be a highfalutin sojourn around Italy's boot complete with a fancy schmancy boat and a Captain's Black & White Ball. Sweetie's got his black tux ready and I've got my little black dress. We'll be excursioning at all the wonderful ports o' call all along the Tres Rivieras. Book-ended with a couple of enchanting days exploring Venice and a few magical days basking in Paris, the city of lights.

Now, I have to go learn some Croatian phrases.

Klunkerz Rulez

Me and my baby stepped out this afternoon to go see our friend Billy's installation in the Newport Beach Film Festival's documentary category. Klunkers takes place in Marin County, Billy's old stompin' grounds, and the birth place of the mountain bike phenom.

But first up was a stop at a favorite Dim Sum restaurant of Will's (Sea Food Paradise) for some of their signature mayonnaise encrusted shrimp, along with other delectables.And yes that is a chicken foot in my sweetie's paws. (He's an adventurous eater).

Now, with some people you get a good sense of what kind of person they are real quick. And with Billy, my first impression was that this is a real down to earth guy with a real enthusiasm for life, and that his passions run deep. He's a straight up guy with open arms. And that enthusiasm and passion shines through in the movie. It really captured the spirit of the time and what it was like to be young when you've got the mountains as your backyard. It made me think of when I was growing up and we moved to Northern California's Shasta County. There, Lake Shasta was my backyard. We knew our way around the back country trails and the cool streams and swimmin' holes and coves along the lakes. Good times. Good movie.

Rome in a Day

Can Rome be done in a day. I say yes, yes it can. On a Saturday in May we've opted to go off on our own rather then do a group tour of Rome.

I've been plotting out our course with the help of Rick Steve's Rome 2007. We'll start our walking tour (or Vespas if we can swing it in the allotted time) from the Piazza Navona, to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Then a cab ride to Capitol Hill, the Colosseum and the Forum then over the Tiber river to Trasteveri and back to Piazza Navona where we'll meet up with our group for a private tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

And today I put on my new strapy sandals and I tried on all of my formal options for the Black and White Ball on board ship. I can't believe it's only three weeks away. And I can't believe we'll be in Venice. I'm so excited. We've seen the sun rise on the Indian Ocean and the shores of Zanzibar, and now from the canals of Venice we'll enter the Adriatic Sea and be off on our Riviera adventure.

Another journey to far away places where we can bask in the cultures of other lands and experience different ways of life. To live a life fully. Me and my sweetie pie.

Blessed are the Animals

Buster, our Russian tortoise, is the honorary blessee for all of our animals. She takes the drenching year after year on their behalf. This year she donned a pretty sombrero trimmed in orange and two spring flowers. As always she was a big hit.

More photos here on Flickr
Will posted a little video here on You-Tube

And blessed are they all, so dear to our hearts and loved as our family.

This Day in April

I was born this day in April 1959, in Redding California, in the United States of America.

Busy Birds

While playing with Ranger in the backyard yesterday, I heard a rustling from behind me. I looked around and finally saw a sparrow in the paper lantern hanging from the corner of the roof. I watched as two small sparrows alternately fluttered around inside the paper orb then pop out of the top and fly off. Beneath the paper lantern I saw a little piece of fluff, and my first thought was that they were building a nest inside the lantern. Tricky place to nest with the hole at the bottom and its sloping sides. But they seem to have deemed this unlikely vessel as their own and this morning they are busy at it again and more little pieces of fluff and twig and palm frond fibers are settling in the bottom of the lantern.

A Welcome Reconnection

After my husband, Will, has been filling me in on the lives he has reconnected with over the past few weeks, I find myself in the midst of a reconnection myself. Cari, my best friend from Reno, emailed me with a link to a short film "In Light of Nothing" that she has up on "The Lot".

Her kids have roles in her film "In Light of Nothing" and I've seen a wonderful Happy Birthday video message from them to their good friend Buzz. Plus photos of them on what appears to be a warm summer day, shirtless and gleefully smeared in something paint-like in all colors of the rainbow.

Cari and I have kept in distant touch by email for many years, and a couple may go by before one of us reaches out across the internet to the other. And that is always a welcome reconnection.

One of those times Cari sent me a photo, I sketched it in pencil and my Mom framed it and it hung in her house. I found a photo I took of the sketch, but where is that sketch now?
The Marvelli's were a second family to me when I was newly relocated from Redding, away from my Mom, to live with my Dad in Reno. He was never a meaningful force in my life and didn't seem to have any interest in me or what I was doing. Fresh out of highschool I was still young and when I started working at McDonald's and met and became friends with a very cool lady, Bobbi Marvelli, I then met her kids, Kevin, Cari and Stevie, and they became my family there.

Now, somehow we are all in our 40s (even Steve I think), and I think happy with our lives past and present. I think of them always and with a very special love. I was fortunate to have been welcome into their home and their lives.

A Day on the (Down)Town

This morning we were going to walk to downtown to attend the Los Angeles Concervancy's Saving Los Angeles Conference being held in the Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway, but being as it's Sunday, we thought it better to lollygag and rather than stroll out on to the road and trek downtown, we drove there.

The Los Angeles Theatre is wonderful. Man they built 'em grand back in the day. I liked that there weren't any apparent areas that were off limits, so we nosed behind curtains and through doorways, and onto balconies oohing and aahing and snapping away. Will even made his way to the rooftop.

After we had our fill there and enjoyed an exhibitor's extensive collection of vintage postcards and other printed gems, we wound our way down the block to Clifton's for lunch. The we traversed several blocks making our way to the Central Library enjoyed the art installation there and then meandered through the Biltmore and back to Pershing Square, below which the car was parked.There continues to be some very exciting things going on downtown. It's so walkable and there are so many beautiful buildings, and I wonder how long it will be before downtown really comes alive.

Soot Bull Jeep

For some reason I've had a strong desire for Korean BBQ. When Will and I decided to go see 300 last weekend we thought we'd wrap up the evening with some Korean BBQ. I googled Korean BBQ and decided that we would go to Soot Bull Jeep. It's very well known and the only remaining Korean BBQ that uses charcoal. All the others have converted to gas grills. Unfortunately we had a rather filling and late lunch so we rain-checked the Korean BBQ after the movie, which we both thoroughly enjoyed.

Now, my office building is right in the center of Korea Town on Wilshire Boulevard. And this past week as I get out and take a walk at lunch all of a sudden I'm noticing nothing but Korean BBQ restaurants. Of course, they're everywhere. And Soot Bull Jeep is only about 3 long blocks away.

So this weekend we ate very light and went for an early dinner at Soot Bull Jeep. We scored a parking spot in the tiny adjacent lot and are seated quickly at a table by the window. The old diner style formica tables have been outfitted with a center grill flush mounted with the metal housing underneath. All of the tables are topped by some pretty heavy duty vents dropping from the ceiling to control the smoke. Our server/waitress takes our order and returns to toss in some charcoal briquettes and set the grill on top.

She then promptly returns with our beers and a plate of whole leafy lettuce leaves and plates of raw beef (we ordered the marinated short ribs and the marinated rib eye). With that she very unceremoniously unstacks a variety of small dishes (what I believe are called banchan). The dishes contain several types of pickles, kimchee, and spinach as well as a clear broth soup with slices of turnip and scallion, a small green lettuce salad with a flavorful sesame dressing, and a pot of steamed rice. These were all fresh and crsip and perfectly seasoned. All of these things are good to either dip or top or roll up in a lettuce leaf with your beef and eat.

The waitress lays the first batch of sliced and marinated meat on the grill and with very utilitarian tongs we then turn them as they sizzle and spit on the grill. Ooooh, and there was a dish of garlic cloves that we tossed on the grill as well and the bean paste was excellent. It was all extremely delish-a-lishus. I'm glad I was wearing an inexpensive skirt because I sustained a couple of tiny singed holes from bits of flying hot coal.

I'd definitely like to return and maybe try some shrimp or squid on the grill...

Gimme an A

Since I bought and moved in to my house in the summer of 1999 I have seen many tenants move in and out of the rental house next door. And since the summer of 1999 I've long admired and coveted the large graphic A propped up against the run down shed in the back corner of the lot. And I've often been somewhat surprised that a tenant hasn't taken it with them when they've moved on. But there it stands still. And I hope it remains.

Funny/odd things sometimes come with rental houses. When I moved in to a rental house, once upon a time, and met the previous tenants who were moving out, they told me there was a cat, Minnie, that came with the house, and each tenant before me had fed her and taken care of her, though none ever let her in. Well, it wasn't long before I was letting her in and when I moved on she was coming with me. And she was with me until the day she died. Sweet Minnie.

Bink on the Mend

Bink hasn't been feeling well. We took him in for a check up last weekend and (besides the BB in his flank) found out that his liver isn't healthy. The first treatment: force feed him so he gets the nutrients he needs. The goal being that he doesn't throw it up and that in a couple of days he starts eating on his own. Well, he didn't throw it up and on Thursday he began eating on his own. He seems to be feeling much better. I got him some kitty grass to help with his digestion. The other cats don't want much to do with it, but when I put it under Bink's nose he nuzzled it and chomped away. Good kitty.