 |
| One of the tables overlooking the lagoon |
In one area of the large graveled outdoor dining area, near the little swing set, was a bachelor party: the groom dressed in a curly red clown wig, a white T-shirt (whose hand-written text I never got around to reading), and very small women's panties worn over his jeans. As bachelor parties go, it was quite well behaved. After one member of the party got a bit carried away and, for whatever reason, removed his trousers, he noticed Jen walking past on her way to the restroom, apologized for his rash act, and put them back on.
Before sunset the whole group of a dozen or so men piled into a large boat and set off from the trattoria's dock to wherever their next revels lay.
There was live entertainment: a singer accompanied by a Karaoke set-up. He sang, with not a trace of irony, "Feelings." Yes, that "Feelings" ("Whoa, whoa, whoa..."), which Wikipedia assures me won the 1975 Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
There were groups of teenagers arriving in their boats, and families arriving in theirs, and a birthday party of adults, and plenty of smaller kids, on the swing set, or running around the large grassy yard behind the kitchen, beside the very large garden.
The Rombo al forno was okay last night, but not as good as I remembered it being last year (perhaps because it was not cooked with potatoes, as it was last time I had it). The spaghetti alle vongole was good, the pizzas good. But the light and view and general feel were great.
When we left at 10 pm everything was still going strong--the music, the families and teens and groups of friends (all speaking Italian)--and for the first time in many many years I found myself reminded of the large Italian(-American) weddings that punctuated my childhood far less often than I wished, back about the time when the song "Feelings" was being played on radio stations all over America, without a trace of irony.
 |
| The view of the trattoria's landing dock; the church of San Pietro di Castello and the campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance |
 |
| People arrive at the trattoria in boats of all sizes: in this case an inflatable two-person dinghy |
 |
| A couple walks toward the path leading to the vaporetto stop leading to (and from) Fondamenta Nove |
 |
| Sunset seen from the trattoria |
"The view of the trattoria's landing dock; the church of San Pietro di Castello and the campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance"
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beta, you're right, that is the campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore. That's the problem with rushing to add captions...
DeleteThis trattoria sounds very pleasant, but please put us out of our suspense.
ReplyDeleteWhat was revealed finally about the doomed apartment?
I don't mean to keep you in suspense but I've been waiting to complete the last unpleasant step in the whole mess: trying to get our money back... I can tell you I have no additional information about what was behind the false wall, and I'm sure neither the landlord nor her lawyer are going to offer any information about that; as far as they are concerned (or will admit) everything in the apartment is perfect. But by next week I hope to be able to write of how things end up.
DeleteYou're both wrong; that's the campanile of the church of San Francesco dell Vigna in the distance.
ReplyDeleteNope, Bert, it's two against one. That's definitely San Giorgio Maggiore. I was able to blow up the original image on Lightroom to confirm it and it bears little resemblance to the campanile of S Francesco della Vigne--among many other things, the roof of S Francesco is brown, not green.
ReplyDeleteBack to the miasmic apartment, I think I would have been very tempted to drill a tiny hole into the false wall. And I wonder if anyone has subsequently signed up for the lease? Should you warn them?
ReplyDeleteThe hole in the wall is a good idea, Anon, but I'd reached a point at which even being in the same room with that wall seemed intolerable, much less getting within drilling distance. La Signora's architect told me, when I ran into one afternoon in the street, that the apartment was rented for a few days to some (unfortunate) Swedes for the opening of the Biennale, but since that time (early May), it has been completely shuttered each time I have passed it.
Delete