Category: Venice
Four favourite Venetian restaurants revisited
December 14, 2018
A four night stay in November was prompted by the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Jacopo Tintoretto’s birth. This in turn triggered the question “where to have dinner?” Instead of seeking out new restaurants, we decided to revisit four that we have tried before. For the first evening we wanted somewhere lively and […]
Tintoretto’s 500th anniversary, and Venice today
December 7, 2018
Feasting on Tintoretto Venice is currently celebrating the 500th anniversary of the painter’s birth, in 1518 or 1519. Almost all his major works remain in his home city, spread among 29 locations. I imagined that the exhibition The Young Tintoretto at the Accademia was going to be a rerun of the one at the Musée du […]
Nervous of a Soggy Pickle
October 6, 2018
Giardiniera, or Garden Pickle. Giardiniera is a typical Italian pickle. On holiday, I sometimes buy a commercial version from the supermarket, to eat with a picnic. It consists of little chunks of crunchy vegetables in a sharp, vinegary brine; something like piccalilli without the mustard. At Trattoria Anzolo Raffaele in Venice, Luigi makes […]
Postcard from Edinburgh
July 13, 2018
My parents met, married and lived in Edinburgh until moving to London in 1946. Although I’ve never lived there, I’ve always felt a connection with the city. If you ignore the shopfronts, the yellow lines and the traffic, look up and you’ll see how little has changed in much of the city since my parents’ […]
A snapshot from the Giudecca
February 4, 2018
I remember the look of incredulity, bordering on horror, on the face of a Venetian when I explained I was holidaying on the Giudecca. “Why?”, she asked. Here are a few good reasons: The quayside (fondamenta) of the Giudecca Canal has an incomparable view across St Mark’s basin to the city of Venice. […]
Perfect simplicity in Dorsoduro (Trattoria Anzolo Raffaele)
February 3, 2018
Simple pleasures: good bread, good wine, sublime ham, and some perfectly pickled vegetables. Pane Vino e San Daniele (Trattoria Anzolo Raffaele) Most of the restaurants on Giudecca were closed for their winter break, so we decided to revisit an old favourite on Dorsoduro […]
Venice in December
February 2, 2018
Going to Venice in December can be risky. The days can be misty and short, and on an earlier visit the nights were cold, damp and foggy, with flurries of sleety snow. But December last year the weather was glorious, with clear blue skies and sharp winter light. There was little traffic on the canals, the […]