news of the season, skill building, etc.

I’ve been working on expanding my mental map of this part of town, and spent several hours last night and this afternoon working quasi-systematically through all the wee calli that are off my own beaten tracks between Campo S. Stefano and Piazza S. Marco. I’m finding wonderful short-cuts and some nice views, too. This is a long weekend (for All Saints Day), so visitors have descended on the city in what feels like random fashion. My barista tells me it’s the last hurrah of The Season. That makes this weekend a good time to either stay home or go off the beaten track. I’m not much interested in doing the former lately, so the latter it is!

Apropos the season…. Without fall colors on the precious few trees and without the Halloween/Thanksgiving discourse I’m used to, this doesn’t feel much like November. Plus there are still mosquitos in my room. I killed what I thought must be the last one a few minutes ago, and just now another one flew by my face.  Bloodsucking bastards.

News from the library: After a week of flailing around and not finding much of interest — *pointed, relevant* interest — I finally saw a manuscript today that actually looks very useful and is quite large. Finally, something to put on the definitely-look-at-this-closely-later list. So far, I’ve spent most of my time trying to squeeze the little bit of interesting material I’ve found in each item, since there hasn’t been much to justify coming back to it later. This find also signals the fact that I’m beginning to understand how to select materials to consult. The accumulation of small lessons learned is starting to add up to something.

Testolini

“My name is Bellcat, and I have an office supply problem.”

 

 

Is this the slippery slope?

 

Lovena, the most beautiful bookshop in the world, etc.

I’m feeling a bit better — sleeping 20 hours a day can do wonders, as can having a perfect capp and a tramezzino.

I can report that Massimo works in the afternoons at Lovena, so I’ll go back in a bit to pass along the saluti of a certain venessiana. For those who don’t know, Lovena is a coffeeshop in Piazza S Marco. I went there around 10:20 this morning, contemplating going to mass at 10:30 (when the Cappella Marciana sings). Thought better of it…frankly I still felt a bit dizzy and weak…so I set out to get some cash and some food.

Browsed a bit in ‘The most beautiful bookshop in the world’ — which now has an old gondola right in the middle of the shop and a brand new litter of kittens in the back. Saw a brand new (March 07) Venetian-English dictionary (C, did you tell me about this already?). No, I can’t remember the author’s name.

Then to campo zanipolo for a tramezzino and a chat with the barista. He told me that the refreshing-looking drink was Campari and ice ’shakerato’ (shaken), so… much stronger than it looked, and impressively strong for 11am. Ah Venice.

On the way home I had the good fortune of running into Gio’s parents. They are such sweethearts, and seeing them let me have my own ‘Ciao!’ and kisses, just like everyone else in town. (Everyone else not toting a camera and a map, that is.)