I managed to time arriving at the vap stop right as a night-route boat was coming. A few moments later and I would’ve been waiting for an hour.
I got back to the apartment a little before 2 crashed until 8. I puttered about writing and making a grocery list until 9, when the Co-op store down the street opens. I brought back the makings for a few kinds of soup, eggplant rollitini, and chicken saltimbocca. Plus my breakfast stuff - yogurt, juice, fruits, etc. It should last me pretty much all week, taking into consideration the meals I’ll have out at restaurants and with the Marsons.
Showered and scrubbed (but with wet hair because of a broken hairdryer - grrr), I set out on the most important task at hand - finding a wi-fi location. I walked through the neigborhood with the NetBook opened, stopping to refresh the network list. Zip.Zero. Zilch. The problem wasn’t that there weren’t any unsecured networks to poach from, rather that there were NO networks available at all. I put the computer away and headed to the nearest vap. I would go the old standby places to get the connection in the short term and find something closer to home later. Campo Santa Margherita near my other favorite apartment held the most promise - I’d connected there in the past but couldn’t see the screen in the afternoon light. Morning would probably prove better. I kept seeing “unsecured” on the screen, but every one I tapped into needed a password. What gives? If a password is necessary, doesn’t that defeat the phrase “unsecured” ???? I tried near the University - nope. I tried at Campo San Polo - nope. I tried near the Academia - in hopes that the artisan galleries and workshops in the Dorsoduro district (Venice’s “left bank”) wouldn’t be savvy enough to get with security protocols -nope. I gave up and went to my consulate at the hotel where my friends work. Giorgio or Aldo would have something magically work for me.
I was greeted in the bar by Giorgio who was surprised to see me so early in the day. I usually start popping in after lunchtime after roaming about. He hugged me but we didn’t have to spend much time catching up - only the past few days. Facebook does wonders for keeping your friends a third of the way around the globe abreast of your every move. Yay social networks! Giorgio did surprise me with the news that I was expected to be at the hotel that evening at 10 pm to meet up with some of my Venetian face book friends. To meet them face to face for the first time. I was going to have a coming out party of sorts, like the debutante I am.
When I started my Italian account/page earlier this year I had only Giorgio, Serena and Donato (all friends from the bar). Since Giorgio is Mr. Italian Barman Association for the Nation and the World At Large he has about a zillion friends - mostly all in the industry and all over the world. He suggested a few people in Venice for me to befriend, since I would likely meet them at some point in my travels, and over the past six months I have amassed a few dozen people I read about on a daily basis but have never met. It’s interesting because on my “real” account I don’t befriend people I don’t know. I have to at least met you face to face already. Except for one Mr. Clay, but he’s special, and he knows why.
Anyway, Giorgio had arranged a get together for that evening, since a good lot of them have Mondays off. I don’t know - hanging out with bartenders in a town where you don’t have to worry about designated drivers could spell trouble. I told him I would definitely be happy to meet them all, but I wasn’t planning on wrecking my liver or anything.
I told him about my situation with the wi-fi connectivity and he promised me he would work on getting a password for me to use on the VeniceConnected community site. It has the strongest signal throughout town and is available to residents of the city for free. Hmmm, why doesn’t Marco know about this? Giorgio would ask Luana (another employee) if she would loan me her password later in the day. In the meantime, I popped over in front of the hotel next door, the Bauer Palazzo and found their unsecured wi-fi to actually be unsecured. If all else fails, I’ll just hang out in their lobby to read and post as needed.
The Bauer is one of the only modern facades in the city, as the Germans used it as their HQ during WWII. Offhand I can only think of three - that hotel, the train station (designed by Mussolini but not built until the early 1950’s) and a bank on Campo Manin are the only buildings that look 20th century. Many buildings have been remade time and again - tourism and refurbishment drive the economy in this city, but always in the manner of the original eras of the 14th-18th century. “Com’era, dov’era” is the phrase - “How it was, where it was.“ When the Opera house burnt down in 1996 (arson, no less) they were able to reconstruct it exactly because of the photographically archives of it’s interiors and the construction notes on file from the 18th century were kept elsewhere in town.
I decided I would keep searching, closer to home and use the Bauer only if absolutely necessary. Time to head somewhere for lunch. I caught the vap and rode up a 5 stops to San Toma to walk to the Dona Onesta and see Safwat and company. See previous entries for my history with the D.O. and its owner, but suffice to say, he is slowly becoming a friend and the restaurant is a place I go to with regularity. His brother was working and he greeting me with more warmth than on previous occasions. It’s not that he’s unfriendly, just not as friendly as his brother. I can never remember his name either… I want to call him something like Mufasa or Mustafa but I know it’s nothing like it. I’ll call him Jimmy for these purposes, as he resembles a more rounded, cherubic and cuter Jimmy Kimmel in the face. It’s only in the eyes; they are shaped the same. I assumed that Safwat was at the other restaurant - the new one, and that I would stop in there when finished. I ordered taglioni with scampi and a pork cutlet, a glass of white wine and acqua frizzante. Just as the pasta arrived, Safwat breezed in and greeted me with kisses on my cheeks and a big hug. Jimmy had called him to tell him I was there to eat. He asked me to stop in afterward over there. I agreed.
The taglioni hit the spot - flat noodles, half the width of fettucine, but lighter in substance, with small shrimp mixed in and the sauce was a kind of aurora - a pink sauce made of a blend of red sauce and béchamel. Not heavy like béchamel and alfredo tend to be, and not runny like some marinara can get. It was made with red bell peppers, by the taste of it. Even better! The pork cutlet was as big as my head, lightly breaded and baked, so it wasn’t greasy at all. Yum yum yum - an excellent choice of dishes! While I have never had a bad meal there, I hadn’t had the taglioni dish before. I certainly will again.
Afterward, I made my way to the new restaurant and chatted briefly with Safwat and his nephews working there, and promised to come try them for dinner on Tuesday. Safwat promised to sit with me for the meal and leave the hosting to others. I told him that’s impossible for him - those regular patrons expect him to hop about and chat them up - and I didn’t mind at all dining alone. He laughed told me I know his business too well, but he promised to sit with me during dessert.
On the way back to the apartment I stopped along the main drag in front of a few of the larger cafes. I figured if there was wi-fi available at any of them it would be more respectable to drink a coffee while working at the computer, rather than hang out in the hotel lobby of a place I wasn’t staying at. The café at Campo Santa Sofia struck gold. Plus, I know that when the café isn’t open, the tables and chairs are still out there in front. I don’t have to wait in the morning for them to open. I can hit it around 7am and call home on the Magic Jack, where it’ll be 10pm. At that hour there also won’t be scores of people walking by looking at me like a crazy person. Jackpot!
Back at the apartment I started cooking veggies for a pot of minestrone soup. I was in no way hungry and wouldn't be for hours, just preparing a hearty dinner if I was going out carousing later. I got a call about 6pm from Serena, verifying that I would be there later to meet up with everyone. Yes, around 10, will you be coming along? Unfortunately, she is working. Damned shame. Going anywhere with Serena is fun. She is stunningly beautiful and heads turn from all points in a room. I like watching the people watch her. She has no idea how gorgeous she is and doesn’t believe it anyway when you tell her. Photos do her no justice, but picture a cross between Penelope Cruz and Monica Belluci. And she’s a goofball to boot. This is a woman who when hard-pressed for a date by Nicolas Cage while he staying at the hotel (after his divorce from Patricia Arquette and before he got really creepy looking) told him she could not go out with a guest. He changed hotels and took her to dinner that night. They went to the beach on the Lido the next day and she couldn’t figure out what she had done wrong - he’d shied away very quickly, pretty much almost leaving her there. When she told me the story I immediately figured it out. Second date at the beach and her being topless in public probably kind of messed with his head. Because we’re American and don’t expect that. How do you have a “get-to-know you conversation” with a mostly naked woman, after all? But she said he was too introverted and quiet anyway, not talkative at all (even before the topless public beach action.) True story. She also had a handful of dates with one Mr. George Clooney about the time he was scouting for his villa in Italy. Truth.
A few hours later, with my dinner eaten I headed out to meet up with my peeps. I was thinking earlier of inviting Marco to come with me, but decided that wasn’t a good idea. I would’ve welcomed his company and to see him go out and have fun in a group, but there is bad blood between him and Giorgio. These are Giorgio’s friends, so I felt it inappropriate. He would not have accepted the invitation knowing Giorgio was involved anyway. Why can’t all my friends be friends with my friends because they are all my friends?
There were a dozen people waiting when I got to Bar Tiepolo. Giorgio made all the introductions and we headed out into the night. Normally I would feel not quite at ease with a large group of almost-strangers (save for Giorgio and Aldo) who I only understand about 70% of the time with the pretense of drinking, which can cause a person to be even more unintelligible because they are bound to drop the “speaking English” thing, but this time I felt alright. These are all bartenders in a tourism-driven city visited by people all over the globe. They all speak at least four languages with a pretty good knowledge base. We could always revert to Spanish if need be. I promised myself I try out new cocktails to me, after all - these are people to suggest them, right? I also made the mental note to be home before 1am. Not too difficult, as there are only a handful of places in Venice open after that time anyway. And I was not going to the Piccolo Mondo disco if they threw out that as an option. Eurotrash in a bar or jazz cub is one thing, but I draw the line at watching the Eurotrash dancing to bad house music.
How did it work out? It was great! It was great seeing Giorgio and Aldo out from behind the bar and kicking up their heels for once. I also tried something you would never suspect would exist. I see it every time I go to the grocery store here, but never at home - it’s called “Cynar” and it’s a liqueur made from…. artichoke. It’s a little on the bitter side but diluted with seltzer and an orange wedge, it was pretty good. At least it doesn’t taste like Nyquil, which is what a lot of the sips of drinks I had of theirs while deciding upon my concoction. What is it about Italians and bitter drinks? Americanos, Negronis, Montenegro, Amaro - ugh. Worse than the worst cough syrups. We ended up singing karaoke in the Scala Martini next to Vino Vino, where I was serenaded by Aldo singing the Four Seasons' "Can't TakeMy Eyes Off of You" - not awkward at all... eesh! I eventually bade my new friends and promised to make my way to their places of business and cut out at about 12:30 to head home.
(Cynar spritz)
I acknowledge I haven’t been taking pictures, so tomorrow’s goal is all pictures, all the time. As soon as I see that the wi-fi connection at the café will not take 15 hours to upload photos to the blog, I will feel better about providing some visual content. Buona notte a tutti!
No comments:
Post a Comment