Today is Santo Stefano Day, a national holiday celebrated throughout Italy. It's the last day of a three day eat-a-thon in most houses, starting with the Christmas Eve cenone.
Santo Stefano Day, December 26 ,is a day commemorating St. Stephen who was the one of the first deacon of the Christian church and also the first martyr.
In Venice, like most other Italian cities, almost everything is closed today. Shops, restaurants, businesses, you name it, all but the most touristy of establishments will be closed yet again today. While Christmas Day is a day spent with the family, Santo Stefano is a day to get out in the streets to see your friends and neighbors, to wish everyone Buone Feste and Auguri (Best Wishes).
We also took to the streets, walking through Castello, ending up at Via Garibaldi where we met up with our friend Anne for a mid-morning cup of tea. The last several days have been gorgeous! Clear skies, enough sun, and above average temperatures for this time of year. Just the right ingredients for exceptional reflections in the canals of Venice.
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By late afternoon, the sun disappeared and a thick fog began to roll in. We watched it roll over the lagoon getting closer and closer to our terrace. It quietly crept over the terrace until we could barely see out the windows. Thick as thieves out there tonight, and all we can hear are fog horns as boats make their way between Lido and Venice.
This is the view out our kitchen window tonight. Fog (la nebbia) .
The weather forecast for tomorrow is rain during the day, snow starting late evening to Sunday morning. We don't often get any snow in Venice, so whenever there is even a little bit, it makes for a great occassion to take photos, especially of the gondolas docked in front of the Doge's Palace.
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Buone Feste!
