Countdown to Christmas 2016, Venice Style - Day 9

Ciao, tutti! 

This just might be my favorite Advent calendar this year. I've been thinking about what I might put in each of those drawers. Don't laugh, but I'd put Hersey's kisses in them, the same number in each box as the number on it. So, 1 kiss for Dec 1, 2 for Dec 2 and so on. December 24 would be like a winning the lottery- especially since we cannot find Hersey's kisses over here. Having them would be such a treat! Any thoughts on what you'd load those drawers with? 

Today I'm taking you to one of my all time favorite shops in Venice, to meet a very special artisan. This is one of the very first places I visited on my first trip to Venice, I returned every year, and now I pop in several times a week. Ca Del Sole mask shop is just a few minutes from St. Mark's square, on Fondamenta Osmarin in the district of Castello. 

Meet the man behind the masks, Hamid Bandar.  Hamid opened his shop in 1986 and was one of the first artisans to create a revival of the traditional Venetian mask. I caught Hamid mid-lecture in his workshop the other day, doing something he loves - sharing the story of Venetian masks.

Inside his shop you'll find a wide assortment of masks, ranging from the Plague Doctor to fancy, elegant creations perfect for a Las Vegas showgirl. All individually made from paper mache and decorated with gorgeous accessories such as beads, gold leaf and feathers. 

A handmade Venetian mask is a work of art which takes days to construct from start to finish, beginning with strips of blue paper mache and glue in the plaster mold. Recreating the traditional masks worn in Venice is a labor of love for Hamid and his assistants. 

Ca del Sole not only sells Venetian masks, but also rents handmade costumes for Carnevale masquerade balls. 

Hope you will put Hamid's shop on your list of Must-finds next time you are visiting Venice. It's definitely one of Venice's gems. 

You can visit Ca del Sole at Castello, 4964, Fondamenta Osmarin

www. cadelsolemascherevenezia.com

Here's the link to the Countdown to Christmas 2014 post Just click here!

Today's Advent calendar thanks to imaginifnz.blogspot.co.nz

Venice Marathon 2014

Tomorrow is the big day, and Venice is ready. 

 7,000 runners from around the globe will participate in the 29th Venice Marathon. The weather forecast is sunny, 65 degrees, with no chance of rain.  Should be perfect for a 26 mile run. 

A temporary bridge across the Grand Canal was put into place yesterday, connecting Dogana Point on the Dorsoduro side of the canal to St. Mark's.  Spectacular to see without runners, I can only imagine how emotional it must be for runners to find themselves on the Grand Canal with such an 

incredible view.

             

 This afternoon, workers completed the finish line area which is located along Riva di Sette Martiri just before the entrance to the Public Gardens.  The TV camera trucks are in place, the reviewing stand and port-a-john have been set up, and even tents with cots so the runners can receive massages after crossing the finish line.

Last week, workers completed the last sections of  ramps on all the bridges between St. Mark's and the garden. The ones along the Zattere had been completed in the prior week. 

When I see the ramps going up every year, I know it won't be long before the marathon takes place. In prior years, the ramps have been left up for at least a month after the race, to give anyone (tourists and residents alike) with mobility issues a bit of a break.





This is the route map of the Venice Marathon, beginning out in the countryside, in Stra.  Twenty of the race's 26 miles are run outside of Venice, with the last 6 miles run from the cruise port to the public gardens.

While I was searching for a route map, I came across this interesting "fly-by" route of the Venice Marathon on You Tube. Click the link to view it, it's fun.

In previous years, I've taken a position along the Zattere just at the entrance point from the cruise port, so I could see the runners in the front of the pack as they hit this long stretch of sidewalk and make their way towards St. Mark's square and the last bit of running.  Last year the crowd was going nuts because an Italian runner was in the top contenders. He came in third, which is a very good showing considering the winners usually are runners from Kenya, and those guys are some very fast runners.

This year, I will be right by finish line, with camera in hand. My hairdresser, Simone, is running the race this year, I think I may be more excited about this than he is.  I bumped into him last night on the street in the vicinity of Rialto, so I had a last minute chance to wish him "Buona Fortuna"  He may need every little bit he can get. I probably should light a few candles for him right before race time, just to be sure to give him every last bit of help possible tomorrow. The poor guy injured his ankle a few weeks ago, and it's not good.    He informed me he is running tomorrow anyway, pain or no pain.

On your mark, get set.....

Fritelle + Confetti = CARNEVALE!

I know, my title today looks like a bit of really weird math. It is an equation, an equation for fun in Venice.

After taking down the Christmas decorations - and you know in Italy you don't take them down until January 6 which is Epiphany - it was a dreary January here in Venice. It rained. And then it rained some more. And then it kept on raining.  And then there was fog. Thick fog. The one thing we had to look forward to was the first sightings of fritelle to arrive in the bakeries around town. It was somewhere around mid January. The second you see the fritelle arriving, you know Carnevale isn't far behind.

 Fritelle are fried dough, with currents and pine nuts in the dough. They can be plain, rolled in sugar or stuffed with an assortment of goodies such as nutella, crema, zabaione, and ricotta.

The other harbinger of Carnevale that I look for is confetti on the streets. When I see the confetti, I know Carnevale is even closer. You an almost smell it in the air, it's that special. Confetti  has been spotted in several locations in the last couple of days, with lots of it in Campo Santa Margherita. I'm counting down days to Carnevale from here on in.

This year, Carnevale begins on February 15 and runs until March 4. The theme is Wonder and Fantasy Nature.  Join me through the whole month as I introduce you to Venetian masks and some of my favorite authentic mask makers around the city, costumes and some of the wonderfully talented people who make them, and the major activities of Carnevale taking place in and around  St. Mark's square.

To whet your appetite, here's a photo of one of my favorite costumes from Carnevale 2013.  I can't wait to see what's in store this year.

To learn more about this year's Carnevale program, check out the offical website at http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/index.php

A typical November day in Venice

I thought I'd share with you a little bit of a typical November day in one of the world's most beautiful cities.

November is the month when we're most likely to get high water. Everyone's heard lots about Venice's Acqua Alta, right?  Here's a photo to help remind you (not taken today, obviously, they are not bundled up in coats carrying umbrellas. It's pouring rain here today too.)

For the last few days, we locals have been receiving email messages and texts from the comune (city hall) alerting us to the forecasted height of high water. It's been a code Orange the last 24 hours, with 125 cm of high water predicted for 11:00 am today.  At the lowest point in the city, St. Mark's square, that means the water would be about at the top of my boots, which are almost knee level on me.

Here's the latest bulletin from city hall, sent this morning.  You can see we're in for a little more aqua alta both tomorrow and the next day. Bulletins such as this have become a normal part of my life in this time of the year, in fact, they have been hitting my inbox once every couple hours in the last 24 hours.


                                      

Another part of our normal existence here in Venice through the winter months is the sound of the Aqua Alta sirens.  This morning, we heard 3 tones, alerting us the water would be around 130 cm. In the video below it is the highest alert, 4 tones. The video is from a day not quite a year ago.  Just wanted you all to have a taste of what we live with.

Hope everyone stays dry today!

A day to remember

November 4, 1966 is a day Venetians, and Venice, will never forget.  I thought I'd share this little video to give you an idea of what it was like, if you have not already seen photos from 1966.

We had a little bit of Aqua Alta today, and tomorrow the forecast is 105 centimeters.  Just a dribble compared to this day in 1966!

It's Acqua Alta time, it's Acqua Alta time.....

Just last week I noticed that the walkways (passerelle) had been brought out of storage and placed strategically around the city, in anticipation of the first Acqua Alta (high water) of the season.

I just checked the weather forecast for tomorrow and guess what!!  Tonight around 12:30 am and again tomorrow around 12:30 pm we're going to get to use those platforms.  Although the forecast is only predicting 105 cm in Venice which means it will only be in the lower areas of the city, it will certainly be in St. Mark's square and Rialto.  Get the boots out everyone!  Happy Acqua Alta season to all!

It's official- No more Venezia Official Store

On April 25 Venice celebrated both Festa di San Marco and Italian Liberation Day. Venetians had one more thing to celebrate- the completion of the renovations of the Bell Tower. Finally, after a few years of construction we would all be able to enjoy the square sans barriers around the Campanile.  Or so we thought.  Mysteriously  the "Venezia Offical Store", an unsightly structure of glass and metal, appeared at the foot of the Campanile.  The purpose of this structure was to sell tickets to the new Manet exhibit and tourist souvenirs.

Between that time and now the Venetians mobilized, organized a new Facebook page, via il Gabbiotto dal Campanile, and got a petition circulated online asking the city government to remove this gabbiotto (booth). The square is a UNESCO world heritage site, and as such, a modern (and quite tacky )booth isn't quite appropriate to be at the foot of the Campanile. Furthermore, it's not like we needed one more location to be selling tourist trinkets. There's plenty of that. I joined the Facebook page instantly, signed the petition and passed it along. And in doing so, I felt like I belonged. Finalemente!

It didn't seem as though the local government was paying much attention to the uproar  created on the Facebook page. Local newspapers were printing daily articles noting the increasing numbers of Facebook fans to the page, and the rising number of signatures to the online petition.

And then there was the article yesterday. What a surprise. A  pleasant one. I wanted to get up and start singing "Ding Dong, the wicked witch is dead!"  The gabbiotto beneath the Campanile is to be dismantled. Soon.  A much smaller one will make an appearance under the portico of the Doges Palace where tickets will be sold, and will be removed mid August when the Manet exhibit has ended. Only tickets, no trinkets.

I'm impressed that a movement of the people was the catalyst behind something good happening for a change. It makes me hopeful.

Papa Francesco!

By now the world saw white smoke coming from the smoke stacks at the Sistine Chapel, and we've seen the appearance of the new pope at the balcony in St. Peter's square.

                                            
Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina has been elected the 267th pope and has chosen the name Francesco.

I suspect all Venetians were on the edge of their seats hoping and praying Cardinal Angelo Scola would be the new pope.  He had been the Patriarch of Venice for many years, and was quite loved by the people of the Veneto. Three other popes have come from Venice-  Pope Pius X, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul I.  Having Cardinal Scola as one of the front runners of the papabile (those who are pope-able) made all of us sit up and take a little bit more notice.  When the bells around Venice started ringing tonight, we all held our breath. It wasn't meant to be.

So that's the not so good news. The good news is we do have a new pope, the waiting is over.

An hour after the bells rang for the new pope, the high water sirens rang out for Venetians. A little Aqua Alta due to arrive around 11:30 pm tonight. Only 110 cm, nothing to worry about, there won't be tourists swimming in St. Mark's tonight.

Carnevale 2013- day 4

Sharing a few of my favorite photos from Carnevale today in St. Mark's square.

 Loved this scale model of the Clock tower. 

 I was tempted to make an offer on this guy's jacket for Mike.

And, last but not least- one my ride home this evening on the vaporetto I caught these twins with white fur capes and gorgeous blonde curls. 

Festa delle Marie- on hold till tomorrow

I've been patiently waiting all week for the Festa della Marie, which unfortunately got rained out today. The weather just didn't cooperate. It poured rain from morning till night, causing all the scheduled Carnevale events to be either moved to tomorrow or outright cancelled. I was disappointed-but dry!

Twelve local girls are chosen to be the "Marie's" for each year's Carnevale, by participating in what appears to me to be something like a beauty pageant. The chosen 12, selected by a panel of judges,  are announced a few days before the beginning of Carnevale. One of the 12 is selected to be "the" Marie by a public vote. The girls officiate at not only the special  parade which officially kicks of the Carnevale season,  but also at various events during the whole 11 days. The one who is chosen as "the" Marie also gets the distinction of being the angel for the following year's Flight of the Angel ( someone descends from the bell tower of St. Mark's down to the main stage in the square)

After doing a little research on the Festa delle Marie, I discovered that this dates back to very old times. Each year on the day of the Purification of Mary, February 2, it was customary to bless all marriages all at one time at the cathedral of San Pietro di Castello.  At the same time, the marriages of 12 poor girls were also blessed, and these girls were outfitted by the wealthier families of Venice and even got to borrow jewels from the treasury of St. Marks for the occasion.

In 973, during this special blessing of the marriages ceremony, pirates raided the celebration and kidnapped the brides along with their jewelry. Local people set off after the pirates, were victorious and brought back the girls and their gems. Since that time, the Festa delle Marie is held in honor of the victory over the pirates. Twelve of the most beautiful girls from the poorer classes were selected to participate, and the main purpose was to draw foreigners to come admire the girls.

Today the Festa della Marie is a parade of the 12 girls, as well as costumed groups from other nearby areas accompanying the girls along a parade route beginning at the cathedral of San Pietro in Castello, travelling along the Riva degli Schiavoni, and ending at St. Mark's square where the 12 Maries are presented to the public.

This year's Maries - (photo courtesy Carnevale di Venezia official website)

I can only imagine how damaged these gowns would have been if the parade had gone on as scheduled today!  

Above is one of my photos from the 2011 Festa delle Marie marching along the Riva degli Schiavoni.  The first few girls are carried by gondoliers.

The parade has been rescheduled for 10 am tomorrow morning. Thankfully the weather forecast is showing all sun tomorrow. I expect to be out along the parade route.

More Festa delle Marie tomorrow. Stay tuned.

New Year's Eve 2013 in Venice

Tonight's festivities in Piazza San Marco are being advertised (see photo of poster below) as White Christmas 2013. Too bad- we have no snow.  Perhaps everyone will be wearing white!

If you are here and want to be where the action is tonight-

10:30 pm- live music in the Piazza with the Venice White band, and entertainment by Mr. White.  (Don't know who Mr. White is, I'm almost tempted to go to St. Mark's just to find out!)

11pm- free toast with Bellini Canella

Just before 12pm- the countdown to the New Year. Just like in Times Square!

12:15 am - Fireworks in St. Mark's basin

12:30 am - music in the square with DJ Maci

The stage in St. Mark's square will be the center of all the festivities, until a little after midnight when the fireworks begin.

I was present in St. Mark's square for New Years Eve two years ago, I will not be returning this evening. I will avoid the masses, probably will be 7,000 to 10,000 people there. Instead, we will have a quiet dinner at home. At midnight, we'll stroll over to the waterfront just up from Sant'Elena at Giardini to view the fireworks. No one does fireworks like the Italians. I think they invented pyrotechnics.

Cotechino or zampone and lentils are traditionally served for dinner on New Year's Eve, which is called Cenone di San Silvestro.  Cenone literally means "big dinner".  Lentils, because they look like coins, are eaten in the hopes of having lots more money/luck in the coming year. We were given a gift of a cotechino last year, we tried it, we're  not having it again this year. Our dinner is a little less traditional. Roast chicken, roast potatos with onions and raddiccio, and yes, lentils. We will hope for a little bit of luck in 2013!

(photo courtesy Italianfood.about.com)

My initial idea for today's blog was a month by month review of my 2012. As hard as I tried, I couldn't come up with anything that satisfied me.  It's been a good year. A bit trying at times, but on the whole, a good one.  We traveled- the month of February in Portugal (Porto, Lisbon and Madiera Island) and the month of November in China (Beijing, Xian, down the Yangtze River, Shanghai and Hong Kong), with a brief  2 day visit to Istanbul. Both of our dogs, Sam and Leo, passed away this year. We had great visits with family and friends, including a month with my daughter Shannon, and made new friends along the way.  We sadly said goodbye to loved ones who succumbed to cancer this year.  We survived the move to the new apartment. 

 Mike and I were just commenting over lunch this afternoon that the move feels like we flipped the page, closing a chapter of our lives and starting a new one.  Perfect sentiment for today, the last day of the 2012. 

With that, I will wish all of our family, friends far and wide, and all my blog readers the happiest of New Year's. Buon Anno. Tanti Auguri a tutti!  

Venice Weather

We've had our share of strange weather this year - unusually low tides, freezing canals, aftershocks from all the earthquakes in the vicinity (including another one on Sunday morning), but I think today we've hit a high point. Around noon today a tornado touched down on Sant'Erasmo and Certosa islands, just off of Venice. 

  (Photo courtesy Venessia today) Damage to house on Sant Erasmo

(Photo courtesy Venessia.com)  A view of the twister from St. Mark's square around noon today. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see this firsthand. I was over near Campo Santa Maria Formosa at the time with no view over the water.  I consider myself lucky, I might have been a bit panic ridden had I witnessed this!

Another view of today's tornado (photo courtesy Net1News)

The weather has been freaky to say the least!  Recently we've felt so many earthquake aftershocks we've become a bit too nonchalant at our house. Sunday morning when I went running to find Mike when the chandelier in the living room was rocking back and forth, he commented that it was not another shock, but rather the upstairs neighbors exercising. On Monday, talking with friends in Mestre I discovered it was in fact an aftershock that they also felt at their apartments. Next time, I'm sticking to my guns!

April 25, 2012 - Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the rebuilding of the Campanile

It's hard to believe, but 100 years ago on the 14th of July, the bell tower in St. Mark's square completely collapsed to the ground.  In the last few days a few photos of the event have surfaced on a few sites relating to Venice, and there are several of these photos lining the walls of cafe's and bars around the city. Yes, hard to believe, but the photos don't lie!

photo 1, shared from Venice International University
https://www.facebook.com/VeniceInternationalUniversity/info

photo2 shared from  Venezia Today
https://www.facebook.com/pages/VeneziaToday/252463908142196



In this second photo, nothing is left but a pile of bricks. I read that miraculously, no other buildings were damaged, nor were there any injuries to human life. Again, hard to believe!  After the building fell, the city held a design competitions in an effort to select a new building design. Venetians did a bit of protesting, using the familiar Venetian phrase, "Com' era, Dov' era" (As it was, where it was) as their reasoning for not wanting something more modern to be erected in the Bell Tower's place. The locals won this debate!

Over the last year or so, there has been an ongoing project to do some repairs to the foundation of the Bell Tower after some hairline cracks were discovered.  This work appears to be just completing- hopefully the problems have been resolved and the building has been shored up. I can't fathom what it would be like for this building to collapse again.

Tonight in St. Mark's square there is a special celebration, including a light show, to commemorate 100 yrs of the rebuilt bell tower. Auguri, Venice!

This week's stuff

Che Freddo!!!!  We have been having incredible COLD days here over the past week. So cold that the lagoon has frozen over, and the Grand Canal and even the smaller canals have ice on them.

Ice chunks on the canal outside my apartment

Ice on the bottom and sides of the gondola.

The Carnevale Regata on Sunday was cancelled due to the frigid temperatures, and the temperatures have only gone lower throughout the rest of the week. Last night a wind (a Bora) was whipping down the streets and the canals  with such force we thought our shutters were going to be ripped off the house. All night long we heard boats banging up against the brick wall. This morning I read in the newspaper that il Toro, that bull I blogged about the other day, suffered quite a bit of damage from the high winds. It was constructed mostly of reeds from the lagoon. I think those reeds made their way back to the lagoon last night.  By mid day, what was left of il Toro had been moved from it's mooring next to La Salute to a place on land.

Besides the weather, this just hasn't been a good week at Ca' Hendersoni.  Even though I admit we are living a dream life,  there are still times we get a brutal reminder that life can smack us in the face just like anyone else.  On Monday, I took my dog Sam to the vets.  He is 17 yrs old this month, quite the old guy, with rapidly declining health. He's been on medication for arthritis, however in the last 2 weeks he can barely move. I wanted to know if there was any stronger medication we could be giving him.  Well, we now know that there is something a bit more serious causing the pain- he has a large tumor on his right back leg.  The vet took some blood and extracted some cells and sent them off to the lab. Unfortunately, the test results showed nothing conclusive. The next step would be a biopsy.  The vet, and we agree, feel that Sam is too frail to deal with surgery. At this point, we are giving him a new pain medication, much stronger.   Not a good start to the week.

Tuesday, I dropped a knife between the washing machine and the sink cabinet.  In order to retrieve it, we had to move the washer. When we put the washer back in place, it wasn't exactly right, so I ended up jacking it around a bit to get it positioned properly. While I was jacking around with the washer, I managed to bump the stainless steel counter top that has the sink embedded in it.  This counter top is not anchored in anyway- I moved it about a quarter of an inch off center.  So- I had to jack around with the counter top.  While I was doing that, I sliced open my thumb, which bled like an S.O. B. I had blood to clean up everywhere! Finally, with everything back in place, I got out of the kitchen before I could cause any more damage!

Two days later, while we were cleaning up dinner dishes, we looked down to discover we were standing in about a quarter inch of water, that was quickly making its way across the entire kitchen floor!!!  Somehow, while I was "fixing" the counter top I had moved previously, the pipe under the counter came loose, and gradually got looser over the two days.  When it finally gave way, the water spewed everywhere!  We had a swimming pool in seconds.  We had to empty the entire cabinet below the sink and dry that up. We had to mop up the floor. And- we had to pull out the washing machine to mop up behind it. I should have just left the washing machine where it was in the first place!

See, my dream life has it's crap days too!!

I'm sorry to say that my Venice Carnevale updates are going to take a hiatus starting tomorrow because we will not be in Venice. We're headed to Portugal, and will catch Carnevale on Maderia Island, where they celebrate it more like in Rio de Janiero.  We'll be back in Venice just in time for the very last night of Carnevale.  I am very eagerly awaiting the closing event of Carnevale 2012- Vogata del Silenzio. I watched it last year from the Accademia bridge, this year we have tickets to be riding in one of the gondolas that night. Vogata del Silenzio, a silent procession of gondolas down the Grand Canal ending at St. Mark's square, begins at 11:30 pm.  By midnight, all the boats will have arrived at St. Mark's square, where the wooden bull,  il Toro, will be set on fire, signifying the end of Carnevale and the beginning of Lent.

According to weather reports, the temperatures in Portugal are about 20 degrees warmer than in Venice today. Let's hope so. The forecasts for Venice are calling for snow on Friday and Saturday.

Carnevale 2012 - Day 1

Today is the first day of Carnevale!!!  The big events begin next week, there are only a few things going on in Venice today, the first of which is the arrival of Il Toro.  Lighting a wooden bull on fire on the last day of Carnevale is an old tradition, which has not been part of current celebrations here, until this year. Today the  bull was put into place at Punta della Dogana where it will remain until Feb 21, the last day of Carnevale, when it will be set on fire at midnight.

Mike and I walked all the way up the Zattere to the Dogana this morning around 11:30 to get photos of the bull on it's first day. Today was the coldest day we've had all winter ! The lagoon was frozen this morning, it was -1 F when we were out. Trust me, I wanted to stay inside, but my desire to see Il Toro on it's arrival had a higher priority than my staying warm.

All of the news articles advertised the inauguration would be at noon, and indeed it was. Not a very big turn out however, only about 30 people, mostly press, and a few other locals like us. We know the sculptor and mask maker Guerrino Lovato, the artist who made the bull, from our neighborhood, and we were very happy to be able to congratulate him on this incredible sculpture in person.

Mike estimates the bull is about 50 feet tall, way bigger than I imagined it to be. Above is the view you have when you are standing on the Dogana.

Here is Guerrino Lovato as he is talking to the press this morning. When I had a minute to congratulate him he turned to me and told me he was dressed in style with his scarf and hat for the occassion!

These guys assisted with the construction.

After seeing the bull at the Dogana and talking with Guerrino a bit, we got on the vaporetto in front of Salute so that we could ride past the bull in the hopes of getting a few decent shots of a front view. It was very grey today, so my photos are not so great. But- here's a front view. Cute, isn't it?

This photo is courtesy of the Carnevale 2012 website.  The bull is anatomically correct, including a huge pair of balls!

We disembarked the vaporetto at San Marco Vallresso in order to check out the Fountain of Wine that will be used this evening for the grand Brindisi (toast) to celebrate the offical opening of Carnevale. When it is working, wine will be spouting from all the top and all the lion's mouths.  I had originally planned to walk to St. Marks at 6pm to witness this event also, but it is way too cold. One walk was enough today. toasting Carnevale from the warmth of our apartment.