after finding this book in our venice apartment i couldn’t wait to order my own used copy on amazon. can’t wait till it arrives!
a bit of street food. the softest white bread and inside layers of ham & sliced egg. so good!
even in winter there are window boxes and vines still growing. the narrow passageways create a microclimate that protects against the cold temps that dip into the 30’s
we are in the waning days of my 55th year of life on earth, soon i will have completed my 56th revolution around our glorious star – the sun.
i’m home and i’m not. here and still there – in the most serene republic of venice. walking along her wide fondamentes overlooking the lagoon, strolling beside her mist-filled canals, climbing her bridges, walking beside her citizens in their fine winter coats & fur hats.
russian poet joseph brodsky fell deeply in love with venice in winter.
in winter you wake up in this city, especially on sundays, to the chiming of its innumerable bells, as though behind your gauze curtains a gigantic china tea set were vibrating on a silver tray in the pearl-gray sky, you fling the window open and the room is instantly flooded with this outer, peal-laden haze, which is part damp oxygen, part coffee and prayers.
back in 2012, when i visited for the first time, i was determined to do the same. i rightly figured that if brodsky always visited in december, i would too.
now i have been to venice twice in december. i have seen the fog rolling in from the lagoon, turning the city into a watercolor painting. i have walked inside that painting. today i’m there, walking still.
eventually i’ll start drifting west back to sunny california. but not yet.
hope you’re well. enjoying your winter holidays. taking time to read, rest, plan, scheme, and dream. i’ll just be here doing the same.
thanks so much for taking us on this trip with you! and the journal is fabulous!!!
I thought of you this week as I spent a few lovely days in LA. Coming from the frozen tundra of eastern Washington state, I was mesmerized by the succulents and blooming bougainvillea and the gorgeous quality of the winter sunshine. Isn’t it funny how one person’s mundane every day can be so magical for someone else? Thank you so much for the wonderful postcards from Venice. Maybe I will make it there someday.
On our fall Italy trip, I took a lot of photos, obvs! But I noted that I three times as many photos in Venice than I did in Florence or Rome. Trying to convince Stan that we need to go back in winter. You’ve made it dreamy. x0x0
You have a wonderful way of making me feel I am with you. I love that feeling.
In Venice they seem to live la dolce vita with a very special elegance. I’m seeing us…or just me?…go back to Venice next December. You’ve sold me again.
do pick up a jar of the pistachio cream and enjoy it on some good salty whole grain crackers which is what i did. DIVINE.
Mary Ann where did you get the pistachio cream?
Have you been to Mascari…near the Rialto on the San Polo side?
I will also go to your paper store. My friends live in the apartment on the second floor of the same building.
I rent an apartment just around the corner!
I’ve been going to Venezia for the last fifteen years… usually in December.
If you’re interested I’d be happy to share my list of restaurants/shops etc …with you!
XOX
I think this is my favorite set of photos ( if it is possible to choose) and thanks for explaining about the vines and plants!!
why thank you janet. i too found the green bits so interesting – the way they seem to thrive in the cold.
I followed your posts with soooo much interest as we were there 5 years ago. It was magical and I wish I was there right now. That book recommendation looks fascinating. I have ordered a copy. Did you do a journal in the end? With all your daily found bits and pieces? Please show us when it’s finished. Can’t wait. Happy New Year to you Mary-Ann, and keep the art coming.
i did indeed keep a travel journal and i’ll film it today and share v.v. soon!
Again, on my list of gratitudes, I thank you for you. And for taking me along on so many trip over the years. I still carry with me the video from Istanbul … how many years ago? The call to prayers, the traffic, the sights and sounds. I treasure our thoughts, words and photos.
Happy, Healthy 2019 Miss Moss.
Another lovely post😊❤️Thank you!
Mary Ann your blog is always full of inspiration!!
You’ve capture Venezia and all her intriguing corners!
I’m heading back into her arms on Tuesday…just a short trip. Are there ever enough days to explore every calle…? NEVER!
Thank you so much for your beautiful posts!!
❤️♥️❤️
oh do enjoy her charms linda and savor every moment!
Just love all your photos. I am wondering if you can ever spend enough time in Venice to walk through all the neighborhoods. Our tour guide told us one must get lost in Venice, to go off the “tourist freeway” that lead between the Rialto Bridge and the Piazza San Marco. One of the days we were in Venice we got dropped off from a boat trip to Burano near Piazza San Marco and my husband and I decided we would strike out in the right direction (towards the Rialto Bridge where our hotel was), several blocks over from the “tourist freeway” and promptly got lost. But we stayed the course and kept rounding back, no panic. We thoroughly enjoyed walking in normal neighborhoods with the corner grocery store and people picking their children up from school. We found the best restaurants there were the ones off the tourist freeway. Anything with a menu in 8 languages we left before being seated. Thank you for going, it brought back a lot of memories seeing your photos.
Hi MA,
I would like to recommend to you a series of novels by Kelly Jones – all with suspenseful stories during different historical periods in Italy. Really enjoyed them.
One of them at least happens in Venice. Here is a link to one of them and you can search by author to find the rest.
Happy Holidays!
https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Who-Heard-Color/dp/0425243052/ref=asc_df_0425243052/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312118197285&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13877903060048403540&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031936&hvtargid=aud-466360936450:pla-599290057884&psc=1
Oh my goodness, those plaid shoes!
Welcome home and happy birthday! You would probably like a little book called 1000 days in Venice. I bought it at a library book sale years ago and have passed it on to a travelin’ friend. I enjoyed your travel log and wonderful, clear photos showing SO much color and texture.
Happy Birthday dear friend. Have you read My Brilliant Friend? You must!! It’s set in Naples. HBO also adapted it , and I thought it was wonderful as well.
Xo
Sister! I can’t decide if my favorite is the plaid shoes, the venitian glass candies, or the narrow passageways. But I would like to get up on a Sunday and put on the shoes and walk through the lanes feeling the lucky glass in my pocket as I make my way to the shop with the panettone to get us for breakfast while you make the coffee. Sheer bliss!