tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post2632112485025138251..comments2024-03-28T07:52:07.647-04:00Comments on venezia blog: The Height of Conspicuous Consumption: Cipriani's Dinner in the SkySteven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-40922877241792592152013-07-31T12:50:14.392-04:002013-07-31T12:50:14.392-04:00Yes, Laura, Sant' Elena is one place not (yet)...Yes, Laura, Sant' Elena is one place not (yet) over-run by tourists. To keep it that way I sometimes think they should post sentry boxes by the fermata stop and on each of the 2 bridges leading to it to limit the number of non-residents who enter it on foot: only so many people who speak no Italian are allowed each day... Luckily it is the "new" Venice and of little interest to most people who come here. Unfortunately, real estate is still expensive here!<br /><br />Thank you again for your kind remarks and encouragement!Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-33801596059850098342013-07-24T09:49:59.512-04:002013-07-24T09:49:59.512-04:00Just read your response...
I have to say that it ...Just read your response...<br /><br />I have to say that it makes me happy to read blogs like yours because it shoes that life goes on, like in the case of the tango in Sant'Elena, what a trip! Last time we were in Venice and went sailing with my dad, I noticed how that part of Venice was almost void of tourists, and I thought that if I ever consider owning property there I would give Sant'Elena some consideration. <br /><br />Keep on writing, I love reading your posts.<br /><br />Grazie!Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305773287880023217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-31240885407127025752013-07-05T10:52:37.576-04:002013-07-05T10:52:37.576-04:00Your comment, Francesco, makes me think that it...Your comment, Francesco, makes me think that it's largely thanks to metaphor that we can tolerate the climate of certain places. A presto.Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-60200434640036606832013-07-03T03:12:44.681-04:002013-07-03T03:12:44.681-04:00I just read your good news about the Cardin tower ...I just read your good news about the Cardin tower and my day is definetely brighter! (well, here where I actually live the sky is the same color as usual - shades of grey - but that's another story). See you soon.Francesconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-18411623276710089532013-07-01T07:54:39.364-04:002013-07-01T07:54:39.364-04:00I hadn't heard of The Queen of Versailles, but...I hadn't heard of The Queen of Versailles, but have looked it up, Sasha... Having, unfortunately, seen smaller-scale versions of it all-too-often in the US, I don't think I'll watch it, but it's good to know about it. Aside from all the other things one might say about people like those building their own Versailles (and isn't it amazing what a complete ignorance of history allows one to do & say?), it's remarkable how their projects so often fail even on their own hedonistic terms: that is, they don't really seem to ENJOY anything.<br /> Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-25922382090239177562013-07-01T07:38:06.664-04:002013-07-01T07:38:06.664-04:00I'm glad you liked it, ZM, thanks for your com...I'm glad you liked it, ZM, thanks for your comment. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-79857666866104750852013-07-01T07:36:31.420-04:002013-07-01T07:36:31.420-04:00It means a lot to me, Laura, that someone who was ...It means a lot to me, Laura, that someone who was born and raised in Venice might find something of interest in my blog, so thanks very much to you for your comments. <br /><br />It seems to be harder and harder for Venice and its culture to survive and yet, on the edges, I think it does in some ways, don't you? There are still Venetians here--a small colony within what should be and is their own city--but it's almost as if they must live "underground", almost like fugitives in their own home. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-31029441185102723022013-07-01T07:26:27.844-04:002013-07-01T07:26:27.844-04:00I'm afraid it's hard to avoid being a &quo...I'm afraid it's hard to avoid being a "drone" of one kind or another these days, Francesco, but, actually a concerted effort by pigeons and/or seagulls easily would have allowed them to reclaim their airspace from the few diners above Hotel Cipriani.<br /><br />But the Cardin tower, it was just announced, has been called off! It will not be built.<br /><br />Forse a presto...<br /><br /> Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-32831908744300414572013-06-27T09:53:18.693-04:002013-06-27T09:53:18.693-04:00That is so sad. If it weren't that I grew up t...That is so sad. If it weren't that I grew up there and my family and friends are still there, I wouldn't visit Venice any longer, it is becoming a circus act. The only time it come somehow close to the amazing city I grew up in is just before Christmas when most people don't travel.<br /><br />Just found your blog, I will now go read more.<br /><br />Thank you!Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305773287880023217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-7951023777777266802013-06-26T10:18:43.053-04:002013-06-26T10:18:43.053-04:00Great post, wonderful photos:) GreetingsGreat post, wonderful photos:) GreetingsZielonaMilahttp://www.trasa-rowerowa.cba.plnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-70702590073354328392013-06-26T07:30:54.186-04:002013-06-26T07:30:54.186-04:00Definetely too many objects travelling around in t...Definetely too many objects travelling around in the air where in principle only birds should enjoy this rights. This new game allows people to feel like some kind of "drones". I still hope seagulls and pigeons in Venice will revolt against this further invasion of their space.<br /><br />I am still afraid about the next invasion, the infamous Cardin tower.<br /><br />Hope to see you soon in venice.Francesconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-80364227533648048592013-06-25T10:04:10.450-04:002013-06-25T10:04:10.450-04:00Just a couple days ago I saw the documentary The Q...Just a couple days ago I saw the documentary <i>The Queen Of Versailles.</i><br />The people there, a timeshare mogul and his "trophy wife" seem to be perfectly content with living immersed in kitsch. They don't plan to send their 8 children to some school to learn good manners and upgrade culturally. They are happy the way they are. And there is a lot of people out there who doesn't feel inferior because they like consuming trash things and experiences. <br /><br />I'm a travel agents, and some of my clients stay at Cipriani, I know the profile of these people. They'd see nothing weird in this "sky dining".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-9417179126450280092013-06-25T07:08:21.800-04:002013-06-25T07:08:21.800-04:00Trash books in expensive suites don't surprise...Trash books in expensive suites don't surprise me--though Plutarch or Petrarch would be a complete shock--but it's hard to believe that there's no place nowhere that do without trash gimmicks. Is it possible that everyone everywhere, regardless of how much money they have to burn, wants to be treated as if they're in Las Vegas?Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-59874181967711013602013-06-25T07:02:24.211-04:002013-06-25T07:02:24.211-04:00Good point, Mary, much better and more interesting...Good point, Mary, much better and more interesting ways. (Though given my fear of heights, simply burning it would count as better in my book.) Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-86210749319978374172013-06-25T07:00:42.295-04:002013-06-25T07:00:42.295-04:00Yvonne & Tania: I saw some satire of it somewh...Yvonne & Tania: I saw some satire of it somewhere--maybe it originated on Venessia.com--that showed a large roller coaster in the foreground and Venice in the background, and had an Italian text about the fine meal that would be served to one while one rode the roller coaster. I think at least one commenter was unsure whether it was a joke or not; and after the silly thing at the Cipriani, I can understand why they would be unsure. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-42673760656429304262013-06-24T06:56:04.613-04:002013-06-24T06:56:04.613-04:00I think the hotels have to employ such gimmicks to...I think the hotels have to employ such gimmicks to keep the clients happy, because posing as a refined grand dame of VIP-tourism is no longer an option.<br /><br />I remember seeing the suites in the Capri Palace hotel - Audrey Hepburn Suite, Maria Calls Suite, all of them are tastefully decorated and should appeal to the high class of clientelle. <br /><br />At the shelves in these rooms were the paperbacks left by the recent guests. Not Plutarch or Petrach. There was a "100 Sexiest SMS", a couple of books of the Russian cut-rate Frédéric Beigbeder - Sergey Minaev (who writes in a prose you'll wonder how THIS can be published), some other mindless trash.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-32891094474996068042013-06-24T01:32:56.313-04:002013-06-24T01:32:56.313-04:00I can just think of SO many better ways to spend 2...I can just think of SO many better ways to spend 250 euro (or even the 50 euros) in Venicemarykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12146247842636775281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-25300492979466426642013-06-23T06:19:37.002-04:002013-06-23T06:19:37.002-04:00ah ah, that's really "over the top" ...ah ah, that's really "over the top" in such a bad way... yeah, can't wait to see what the venessia.com will make of this.<br />ninonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13160784096293132326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-2319935790354307792013-06-22T22:52:16.243-04:002013-06-22T22:52:16.243-04:00The good folks at venessia.com will no doubt come ...The good folks at venessia.com will no doubt come up with one of their satirical rejoinders to this latest bit of buffoonery. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com