For my last post from Venice, I shall turn over my blog to a guest star, in whose former house I am currently staying. However, in the spirit of performance art and what with being dead, he will be incorporated by a living local. Attend, audience, to Giacomo Casanova as embodied by Tiziano the cat:


( Read more... )

As today is my last day in Venice, there will be more than one post. Let's kick it off with the pictorial results of my trips to Padua and Vicenza, respectively.

( If wealthily then happily in Padua )

I'm strill trying to work out whether there is any way I can blame this on Shakespeare. Or the Oxfordians. Or better yet, Edward de Vere. Somehow. Anyway: Monday night say me attending to the book presentations by Paul Edmondson and Stanley Wells. The books in question were Shakespeare Beyond Doubt and A Year of Shakespeare. Joseph Fiennes was on ( Read more... )

One of those books sold in the local shops in English is titled "explore Venice with Shylock and Othello!" Now I know this is probably just a collection of quotes from Merchant of Venice and Othello, but the way my imagination works was: Wouldn't that make a good modern AU fanfic challenge? Shylock and Othello, working as tour guides? That would ( Read more... )

It turns out I was mistaken about the total absence of cats in Venice. This noon when strolling I spotted not only one but two: a black and white and an absolutely beautiful and large red. Clearly the later's name must be Tiziano ( Read more... )

One thing I never had the time to do on previous trips to Venice was to explore the various islands in the bay, other than Murano where I went on my first trip with the parents as a child, ages ago, and not since. (I still have that glass cat with the red fish inside, though.) Consequently, being blessed with enough time, I did my houssitting ( Read more... )

Going up the stairs of the palazzo, one of the first things I see each time I leave and enter is a bust with an obsidian Augustus, who looks at me rather accusingly. Or maybe it's just that I'm not the biggest Augustus fan ( Read more... )

The photobucket app worked once more, and thus I can present more Venetian impressions, of buildings and literati, for your visual delectation as well.

( Read more... )

When I'm having breakfeast and looking through my window, I see the Cimitero, the cemetery island of Venice, as the Palazzo I'm housesitting is at the Fondamente Nuove. I also see, sometimes amazingly close, the sea gulls flying, and can't help but note they look more elegant in action than those other birds ever present in Venice, doves, aka the ( Read more... )

The first pic spam, of course. Incidentally, you won't find many photos of the obvious suspects, because I did that last year, and I point you to this post for seeing some good ones, if I say so myself. However, sometimes one just can't resist. So here is the Canale Grande with the Rialto in the background to kick it off:


( Read more... )