venice

14 March

I should really be writing about natural health supplements, but I’m sitting outside a cafe with a coffee and a soft breeze in my hair, and spring is here (!) so the Ashwagandha can wait. Let me just set the scene, for future senile Alice if nobody else. A few floors up a caged songContinue reading “14 March”

Venice in the fog

I thought that Venice in winter would be foggier. Or rather, I’d hoped it would. When I visited the city a handful of winters ago, the fog that rose from the Lagoon in the mornings seemed as habitual as the late night high tide in Piazza San Marco. I remember watching Venetians move unflinchingly throughContinue reading “Venice in the fog”

There’s something in the air

If you put your head out the window of a Venetian apartment today, and inhale deeply enough – holding the breath in your throat and your eyes firmly shut – it feels like early morning in summer. There’s something in the air. I can’t put my finger on it. Something like salt and grass, andContinue reading “There’s something in the air”

Venice is a peach

In January, Venice is a peach. The velvet skin of her buildings – oversaturated in the glare of summer – blushes now in this hazy light. For the most part, she is the yellow kind, her plaster blooming with red, cream, ochre, that where chipped and peeled reveals the flesh of the fruit. There areContinue reading “Venice is a peach”

15 December

There are so many things to tell you about our life here in Venice. The things we’ve done, the things we do, the thing’s we’re planning. The wonderful food we’ve eaten, and the gentle rhythms of Venetian life. I could begin by telling you about how on a Friday we sometimes buy a bottle of redContinue reading “15 December”

5 November

Michelle Lovric explains that to write about Venice is to seek new ways to describe the effect of water on marble. Sitting at a desk in Castello, a small canal just below the window – stone, wood and marble resting on the water’s lip – I’d be inclined to agree. Except there’s a little moreContinue reading “5 November”

“Caffe con panna” “Per voi?” The bartender looks bemused. For me? Obviously, who else would willingly order espresso topped with whipped cream at 9pm on a Sunday? I nod. He still looks bemused. Now a huddle of elderly Venetians are laughing. My montagna di panna is causing an unexpected stir. I finish it quickly andContinue reading “Venice”

Gnocchi and squash salad

The clouds thickened into a purple, black scab across the sky. As more and more people piled into the vaporetto, the air inside the cabin became so close that the clotted sky seemed to be lying on top of us. Rolls of thunder lapped up the sides of the canals in rhythm with the measuredContinue reading “Gnocchi and squash salad”

Venice: 24 Cappuccino Days

Like a prodigal daughter I’ve returned home, spent and spoilt by my travels. I’ve slotted back into Bungay life in the usual way: initial joy at unlimited internet access and my own bed and then restlessness as the itch returns to my toes and I feel the urge to pack my suitcase and leg it to StanstedContinue reading “Venice: 24 Cappuccino Days”

Amsterdam

I’m alive! Just wanted to throw that one out there in case anyone was wondering. I’ve managed to escape drowning in a Venetian canal, being mowed down by unruly cyclists in Amsterdam and fingers crossed, I’ll avoid being crushed by demented Bruce Springsteen fans when I head to Prague tomorrow to see The Boss himself.Continue reading “Amsterdam”