New Vaporetto dock at San Marco opens

In a city that is all old, old, old, it's just plain odd to see something so new. It sticks out like a sore thumb, but, I must admit I understand the need for it. Just opened this week is the new Vaporetto dock at San Marco-Vallaresso, and I thought I'd give you a visual tour of it. It has a design very similar to the new stop that opened up on Burano last season. It's open and airy, with lots of covered space. Much better than the exisiting docks which can get too cramped with people while waiting for the boat, especially in hot weather like we've been having the last few weeks.

Only the #2 and the LN embark and disembark at the new dock. The #1 still uses the older existing Vallaresso stop. It seems the city is encouraging the use of the #2 for tourists, and that is a good idea, as most of them want to move between the train station or Piazzale Roma and St. Mark's anyway.

There is a brand new ticket booth located inside the waiting area. I like the new wooden finish to it, instead of the old white booths. Complimenti to whoever came up with the whole design.

The wide open waiting area has plenty of bench space. I'm liking not being packed in like sardines anymore here!

I also like the new electronic boards which tell you when the next boats are arriving. This is a welcome addition at all the vaporetto stops all over the city this season.

This photo just caught my eye while standing out on the new pier. New pier, old cardboard boat signs!

Here's a view of the loading area, taken while on the vaporetto. Compared to all the rest of the vaporettos stops, this new one is huge.

And one final glimpse, taken as the boat was pulling away headed down the Grand Canal. Despite the fact that I don't particularly like to see new construction here, I will admit this is a much needed addition. The Vallaresso stop was always a crowded madhouse during the tourist season, and this will relieve that situation. That can only be happiness for all of us, tourists and residents alike. I would have only requested that they design it to look like it fit in with the rest of Venice. Where's Walt Disney when you need him??

Ciligie!!!!

Ciligie! Dark Cherries!! It's cherry season here in Venice, and this year they have been absolutely delicious. We can't stop eating them, I've been making a trip to the market every day for another kilo of ciligie! Eating them is sheer bliss. I am not looking forward to the day I go to the market and discover the cherry season has ended. So, in the meantime, I plan to enjoy every bite!

Something unusual on the Grand Canal today.....

Most days, I don't have my camera with me, but wished I had. Today, I was on a mission. I had a photograph in mind and needed to take my camera so I could grab the perfect shot while I was at the Rialto market. On my way home, I had a front row seat on the #2 vaporetto, and it was a bright sunny day, so I started snapping shots. There are never enough photos of the Grand Canal! But today, I witnessed something a bit out of the ordinary on the canal. Right in front of us, there is a guy paddling some sort of board- kind of a surf board, kind of wind surf board, sort of big boogie board. Is this a new sport? Anyone know? I actually had seen the same guy about a month ago, doing the same thing on the Grand Canal, however that day he was being followed by a film crew in a boat. The next day, he appeared in the local papers. Today, he doesn't have an entourage, he's just paddling down the Grand Canal solo. It's fairly common to see kayakers on the canal, and I've thought that might be a perfect way to experience this magnificent canal. This guy today has one- upped them! The sight of him just made me smile.

I had to snap a few photos, even as we passed him. I wanted to yell out "Thanks for thinking this one up" to him. While I really think this mode of transportation is cool, I already am certain I never want to see hordes of paddlers like him swarming the Grand Canal- god forbid this turns into some kind of a fad. But, at the same time, I'm enjoying his ingenuity. As for a mode of transportation- it's quiet, it's peaceful, it kind of suits the Grand Canal actually.

I'm really happy my camera was with me today!

Mauro Vianello- the glass guy

This adorable little penguin was made last week by Mauro Vianello at his shop in San Polo. It took Mauro about 10 minutes to make it, while we watched. I'm always in awe when I see a glass blowing demonstration on Murano of blown glass, but the small figures I see Mauro making are even more awesome. Mauro, who has been blowing glass for over 30 years, is a delightful character. He's always more than happy to make something on requestfor you when you go to his shop, so you can see him perform his magic in person.

Frutta!!

White peaches, figs, dark cherries, berries.. the fruit this season has been absolutely delightful!

Christening a new gondola... Roberto's Varo

I've been waiting almost a year for this event- the launching of our friend Roberto's brand new gondola. I think I'm almost as excited as he is- no, not quite! But I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to share in the process. It's been like anticipating the birth of a new baby, watching the slow progress of the new boat over many months, as it transforms from just a pile of pieces of wood, to the stunning sleek gondola that sits waiting to be launched.

At the squero of San Trovaso in Dorsoduro, new gondolas are meticulously made by hand.



Below is the very first photo of La Maria II, Roberto's gondola. Now fast forward about 9 months .....

and here she is, waiting in the boatyard on the day of the Varo (launching). Family and friends are invited to share in the happy event. The boat is on display, everyone admires the workmanship of the boatmakers, and anticipates the moment La Maria II will slip quietly into the water.



The gondolier chooses the many elements of the boat, from the design of all the carvings to the fabrics used for the furniture. Here is the backpiece of the seat, a carving of Roberto's family crest.

Here the same crest is used on the front piece.



The fancy gold horses ....



the fero (metal ornamental piece on the front of the gondola),....




the fancy hood ornament,...



and the forcula (oarlock).







A bottle of Prosecco is tied to the back of the gondola, it's almost time....


But first.. food! Roberto has arranged a huge spread of delious food from Antico Pignolo- including traditional Venetian dishes of Baccala, Bigoli in Salsa, Sopresso and Pane, tramezzinos, and delicious deserts from Rosa Salva. And, lots of wine and Prosecco, of course.




At last, the moment we've been waiting for! The workers at the squero prepare the gondola to be slid into the water, placing rollers under the bow, and away she goes!



Roberto hops onto the back and takes her on her maiden voyage down the canal, testing out how she handles.


Family and friends in the squero cheering him on.

Roberto and his family all get in the boat, and he takes them off down the canals to St. Mark's square, which will be this gondola's new home. Mike and I also made our way to St. Mark's so we could greet them when they arrived. What a great day this has been. Another unique Venetian experience for me, one I realize may be truly a once in a lifetime event. To be able to watch the evolution of a gondola from start to finish has just added to my love of Venice, and all things Venetian. To be present at the time of the launch, and share in that celebration with the family- I'm not sure I have words for how honored I feel.

As we waited for Roberto and Marie to arrive back at ST. Mark's, my husband Mike caught this shot - it's the perfect image to end this blog. Ciao, tutti.

My italian fashion

There is no question that Italians have their own sense of style. As an American, I seem to have been left out when it comes to being fashionable, and I've been reminded of that by my landlord. More than once, I've gotten a little bit of a lecture from him on the topic of my fashion, or lack thereof!

My blue jeans seem to be particularly offensive to him. My favorite Faded Glory jeans, hauled over the Atlantic to their new home in Venice, just don't make the cut, evidently. It's more than obvious when I walk down the street that I am a foreigner, I don't even have to open my mouth.

My landlord doesn't sugar coat the situation one bit. I love the conversations we have about my clothes, they usually go something like this:

(When reading this, try to find your best Sopranos accent, or think of Father Guido Sarducci! That will give you just the right idea of how this sounds in real life over here, with my landlord using his very best English!)

Landlord: "You-a must trow all your-a clothes in the bag, Karen"

Me: "What???"

Landlord: "The blu jeans-a dat you wear-a are-a no gooood-a".

Me: " Why?"

Landlord: " It is the time for you to dress-a like-a the Italian. The blu jeans-a must-a be on your-a skeen very tight. "

Me: " I don't know, I still have clothes I brought with me that are in good shape, I can't go buy a whole new wardrobe."

Landlord: "NOOOO! But-a you-a must! No more wit-a dees-a baggy pants-a for you. Please, now, you go shopping. Trow every-ting a-way-a now. "

As much as I really want to fit in, I'm not quite ready for a big shopping expedition, or to get rid of everything I brought over with me. Maybe next season!

Seppia Nero aka. Cuttlefish

Seppia Nero. Yes, it's one very ugly creature.

Every day, at the Rialto Fish Market, and also at local fish monger's stalls in more remote parts of Venice, you will see Seppia Nero in a variety of sizes. And it's on every restaurant's menu every day for lunch and dinner. Several traditional Venetian dishes are made with the seppia, however it's probably the meal least chosen by tourists. Can you blame them, it's loaded with black sauce, for God's sake!


Being curious, I consulted Wikipedia for details, and discovered the Seppia Nero is in the same class as Octopus and squid, they are among the most intelligent of invertebrates, and have one of the largest brain-to-body size ratios of all invertebrates. Wow, I'm impressed. They surely don't look smart to me. I'm going to be looking at these guys in a whole new light from now on.

What I do know, is that once you can get past how nasty they look, they taste great! You'll see these in several Venetian dishes, such as Risotto with seppia nero, Spaghetti with seppia nero
Seppia nero with polenta, to name a few.

I even recently had a lasagna with seppia nero, which was beyond my wildest imagination, and by far the best lasagna I have ever eaten.

Yes, I sound like the spoke's person for Seppia's, I know. I've been converted, I admit it. I've even been enticing people into trying it for themselves. Not many people take me up on it, however, just the other day Mike and Anna from Colorado, who were here in Venice earlier in the month, sent me a few photos of their trip. They took me up on a restaurant recommendation, and ventured out on a limb to try Spaghetti with Seppia Nero, and even sent me the evidence!

Here's Mike, complete with black sauce all over his mouth, enjoying his dinner at Osteria al Diavolo e L'Aqua Sante on Calle della Madonna at the Rialto. They loved it! Thanks for the photo, guys! I'm proud of you!

Had a breakthrough this morning!!!!

So far today has been absolutely glorious, and it's taken me completely by surprise. Truth be told, I was geared up for the worst, as my first mission this morning was to go to the bank. The bank here is always my undoing. Something that you think would be so easy just isn't here, because of the language barrier.

Yes, I've been studying Italian. But as much studying as I've done still doesn't make me fluent, or even close to fluent. I understand well, also read and write fairly well, but the my own conversation is frustratingly not so hot.

So, today at the bank, I decided to speak only in Italian. Even if I had no idea what was going on, I was going to try to muddle through. The gods were smiling down on me, because the whole transaction happened smoothly, and I even got a "Buona giornata" as I was leaving.

Having had such a positive experience, combined with it being an absolutely gorgeous morning, I decided I would head to the Rialto to pick up some things for dinner. I hopped on the #1 vaporetto at Piazzale Roma, and got a seat at the front of the boat even. There is nothing better than to be going down the Grand Canal on a beautiful sunny day, on the front of a boat. Thank you, God.

At the Rialto Mercato stop, I left the vaporetto, heading first to the fish market. After taking a quick look around, I decided on some fresh tuna, at the stall of one of the fish mongers over on the side of the street, one I've shopped at before. I asked for what I wanted, and we even had a little discussion on how big a piece I needed. He sliced off a piece, showed me, weighed it, and then told me what the bill was. I decided I also wanted some shrimp. At the end he even did a little math for me adding the two together to get a new total, all in Italian!

Next stop was the vegetable stall next door. I asked for mixed greens, cucumber, tomatoes, zuccini flowers, lemons and red pepper. Of course, they do this one item at a time when you are shopping at the outdoor market. After each item, the vendor will ask "Dopo?", meaning, what do you want next. As I was finishing up, the woman behind the vegetables asked me where I was from. I decided to continue my conversation in my halting, embarrassing Italian, I explained I was American,and now Italian, living here in Venice. She smiled and told me to come back often, so we could practice speaking more! Made my day!

A visit to Orsoni, a manufacturer of glass and gold mosaics in Cannaregio

Sometimes, wonderful things happen to you when you least expect them. I've learned during my last two years here in Venice to be more open to these moments, and to truly enjoy every second of them when they do happen.

Quite unexpectedly just a couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a woman named Joann telling me she had put a link to my blog about the Artichoke Festival on the Orsoni Smalti facebook page, and she invited me to come tour the Orsoni furnace. Not knowing what the Orsoni furnace was, I checked them out on Facebook and Google. I discovered Orsoni is where glass and gold mosaics are made, at a 19th century furnace using methods handed down over the centuries. Don't you just love the internet? It turns out, this chance occurrance opened a new door for me that day.

Gorgeous mosaics are common in Venice. Just take a walk down to the Basilica of San Marco. I hadn't ever considered what it took to MAKE the mosaics before, and now I had someone offering me a chance to go look and learn. I couldn't wait, and contacted Joann to go ahead and set up a meeting.


The following week I got on the 41 vaporetto from Piazzale Roma, disembarked at Guglie in Cannaregio, and with their address written on a piece of paper clutched in my hand, I set off to find the Orsoni furnace. After making a turn at Sotoportego dei Vedei, and then onto Calle de Vedei, I soon located the place.

The door is marked with a gold mosaic name plaque- Orsoni. This must be it. My heart is skipping a beat as I prepare to ring the bell, but wait... .this isn't it. My paper says 1045A, and this is 1045. The sign above the bell says Domus Orsoni. Not what I am looking for. I continue down the street, thinking 1045A must be here somewhere.

Ahhh.. here it is...and my heart drops just alittle bit, only because that fabulous gold mosaic sign was so inviting. 1045A is a very different door than the one just up the street. This one is one you would easily walk right by. Hmm...., typical of Venice, actually. I knew that often behind very unassuming doors there is something incredible to see. And, I was not disappointed. I rang the doorbell of 1045A, and was invited in by a man wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt, clearly his work outfit. He pointed the way to another doorway on the other side of building when I told him I had an appointment to meet Mirta.

I could see the factory was on the right side of the entry way, and I was itching to see what went on there, but he directed me to the left, down the garden path, so off I went. I had to pass through a lovely little garden as I found my way to the doorway he was pointing to.

The garden is a little oasis of tranquility, and surprises. On the wall I spotted gold mosaics in frames, a column covered in glass tile pieces which turned it into a piece of art, and even the flower planter sported colorful pieces of glass. Every where I looked I could sense a bit of magic in the air. I could only imagine even more magic as I awaited Mirta.

I was introduced to Mirta, and off we went through the factory. Unfortunately, the day I was there, the furnaces were shut down for repairs. She explained that one week out of every 5 or 6, the furnace had to be closed, and it took a few days for the temperatures to get back up for production work. In my mind I was thinking already I have an excuse to return!

Crucibles used to hold the liquid glass in the furnace line the entry way. To me, they are like art in themselves.

The following week I returned to Orsoni, when the furnaces were working. They were in the process of making gold mosaics this week. This is even more unbelievable than making the glass tiles! First, huge glass bubbles are blown (see photo above), in the color glass to be used for the mosaic. On this day, it was purple. These bubbles are incredibly thin glass. The bubbles are broken into small squares, about 3 x 3 inches. Then, a square of gold leaf is affixed to each square of purple glass. I was in awe watching the woman who does the laying on of the gold leaf this task, as this is delicate, meticulous work. After, more glass is poured around each purple square. After cooling, these are broken into mosaic tiles. The majority of this work, including all the breaking into small square tiles is all done by hand. It's mind-boggling, and fascinating! Unfortunately, I was not able to take photos in the furnace area, or where the women were cutting tiles. I wish I could have videotaped the entire thing, as my words and photos just don't do this justice.

Next we toured the color library, a large room with rows and rows of cubby holes filled with glass tiles of every color and gradation of shades you can imagine. Thousands of them. The tiles are stored by color, shade, and batch number. I learned about how the large tiles are made, how they are cut down into squares, and then into smalti (smaller tile pieces), how people can buy both large uncut tiles and also smaller pre-cut ones, and also how matching of color pieces are done if an artist needs more tiles of a particular color. I had a very difficult time leaving the color library room.

Back in the office building, I had time in the gallery room, where there is a mini-exhibition of fabulous mosaic work, and this portrait of the founder, Angelo Orsoni.

The photo above is part of the sample board Angelo Orsoni took with him to the Great Exhibition in Paris in 1889.

Our last stop is upstairs in the classroom. Fortunately for me, during both visits to Orsoni, there was a class going on. The first time, students were learning how to make Filati, long thin strands of glass, which are then broken into tiny pieces for use in mosaic art pieces. The work these students were doing was unbelievable!!! This week the students were creating with smalti, the smaller tiles. Again, what I watched them do was breathtaking.

They were all gracious enough to share what they were working on, and allow me to take photos.

Special thanks to each and everyone of the Orsoni family- Joann, Mirta, Lianna, Antonella, all the staff , and students. This is such a magical place!

Orsoni holds a series of classes from beginner to master level, see their website for more details - http://www.orsoni.com/.

Also, recently opened is Domus Orsoni, a fabulous little bed and breakfast in Cannaregio, located right at the foundry. It's quiet, peaceful, idyllic surroundings. It's like finding a bit of heaven in Venice, if that were possible!! For more information see their website http://www.domusorsoni.it/.

As I write this, I am already planning to attend a class over the winter, and have some ideas for a first mosaic project in mind!