Glass Clinks to leave 2009

A nice and old place(centuries of existence) not far from the Pescheria. Do Mori. Regular guests. A glass of Merlot or Cabernet, five minutes with your friends and neighbours, one chichetti, maybe two, and you go back to the market and your morning errands... In this last day of 2009 let's have a nice glass of wine together. A wonderful new year to all of you, my dear Venice Daily Friends!

Street View

A street scene, somewhere in Venice. Where? I'm pretty sure that some of you will know at first sight! So, let's go, who will gess where?

A Secret Place

Another hidden courtyard, a "Corte Sconta" as Venice possesses so much. So near to the crowds of visitors, yet so well hidden that hardly anybody knows them even among the Venetian people. And as for any other "secret place" in Venice, I'm not supposed to tell you where it is... Let's the secret remain! Maybe you will have the pleasure to stumble upon and discover these antique architectural elements (11th to 17th centuries) arranged on this strong buttress, in this cobblestone paved entrance loved by author Hugo Pratt and his adventurer character Corto Maltese.

Piazzetta December

Another morning walk on the Piazzetta...

Auguri

A decorated shop window in front of San Barnaba...

Auguri di Buon Natale à Tutti !

The Post office : il Fondaco dei Tedeschi

This huge building, right near the Rialto Bridge, had been for centuries the German trading post and warehouse in Venice : il Fondaco dei Tedeschi. As many other palaces, that have been adapted to shelter civil services, this one is nowdays the Post Office.

Gondolas under the rain

A rainy day never alter the enthusiasm of Venice's visitors...

Venetian Christmas

A nice Venice decoration, hand painted on Venetian glass... Isn't it cute? Seen in a shop named Pagnacco, in the Mercerie, right near San Zulian.

Vegetables and Fruit

Morning delevery at the Piazzetta Mole, vegetables an fruit that will be at noon on the Riva degli Schiavoni luxurious Hotels and restaurants...

Grand Canal at Night

With so short days and never-ending nights, with low skies full of heavy clouds, winter time is the perfect season to wander in the dark side of Venice...

Alberi di Natale

O albero, o albero,
risplendi nella notte !
Le luci tue scintillano,
come le stelle brillano.
O albero, o albero,
risplendi nella notte !

Fra i canti degli arcangeli
ritorna il bambinello
I rami verdi toccano
la capannina di cartone
l'albero illumina
la culla del Signore.

S'innalzano, risuonano
i canti di Natale
La loro dolce musica
giunge fra tutti i popoli.
Ripete ancor agli uomini :
giustizia, pace, amore.

Time ain't on my side

An old palace, at least an imposing town house. How many generations may have been born and raised here, how many people have lived here, before these walls became as empty as a nutshell lost in the middle of the city...

Al Paradiso Perduto

Take one good friend, Alain (whom you already know), one warm-hearted landlord, Maurizio, two talented Italian guitar players (Shady Grove, with Paolo and Stefano) singing the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd or Jerry Lee Lewis, a bunch of smiling (and sometimes dancing) waitresses, a couple of young American travellers (present on this pic, she is from South Arizona, he is from Denver Colorado, "Hi" to both of you btw), an enthusiastic audience of patrons (and among them two nice drunk University students). Add some spaghetti al nero di seppia and one pitcher of Italian wine (ok, maybe two) … Well it was yesterday, at the Paradiso Perduto, The Lost Heaven, Fondamenta de la Misericordia in Cannaregio…

Early Morning Ride

How nice it must be to have one's own boat in Venice and to sail the canals in the crisp little morning air...

Canal Grande

The Grand Canal (Italian : Canal Grande, Venetian : Canalasso/Canalazzo) curves along the very heart of Venice. It is indeed the geographical as well as the symbolic center of the city, and to everyone it gives the sensation of being in a unique landscape.

Prescribed Length

Here on a wall at La Pescheria and, as much as I know, also displayed in at least two other locations in Venice (Fondamenta della Tana and Campo Santa Margherita), this marble slab was designed to inform fishmongers and their customers about the prescribed minimal length in centimeters of the fish sold on the markets and in the whole Venice lagoon. A vital way to protect the fishing patrimony, back in time so important to the the inhabitant's living.

Aqua Alta on St Mark's Basin

The Gondolas on the Piazzetta bank (el Molo), now inaccessible because of the high waters, seem to be moored far away in the middle of St Mark's Bassin.

Image Alain Hamon - Destination Italie