Thursday, April 21, 2016

A (Very Large) Fish Named Leo: Rialto, This Morning

The large red fish partly visible at left was labeled "Monica"; if you had any inclination to wonder if it might not be better if these two impressive creatures were still in the sea rather than on ice, this anthropomorphizing didn't help.

For a better sense of the size of the swordfish, see the image below. Venetian shoppers may do a lot with their trolleys in this city without cars, but nothing less than a full-scale commercial delivery cart would be adequate for "Leo."


11 comments:

  1. It's been a heck of a life, Leo. Now you'll be greatly enjoyed by the nice lady in the orange coat.

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    1. After some consideration, she left Leo where he was and opted for something of more manageable dimensions.

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  2. Great pictures, thank you Steven!

    What time were you there? It looks nice and quiet.

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    1. Thanks, Caroline, they were taken just before 9 am and it was a good time to be there, no crowds yet and great selection--a big difference from when I've been there after 11 am. There was this incredible group of fresh, large, thick, deep-red-almost-black tuna steaks at one stall; we bought one and seared it and it was quite amazing (I think it's been years since we last had fresh tuna).

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    1. I think it would serve a pretty good-sized party, Rob. It made me wonder how long a fish that size (at least 5 feet from tail to eye) would typically take to sell once it had been cut up at the Rialto.

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  4. Wonderful pictures, as usual. :)
    This weekend I had a "near Venice" experience i Stockholm. First the fishmonger sold me Vongole under the pretext of some Venetian theme. Then the guy in the delicatessen proceeded to sell me some prosciutto di san Daniele and lovely sopressa Veneto. To top it off my wife took me to a new store to try som spring clothes where the shopkeeper greeted me in Italian, which I don't speak by the way, and proceeded to sell me jeans from Sartoria Tramarossi which boasts the flag of san Marco.
    I take it as a sign that I need to visit Venice again. Maybe "three strikes" is only baseball, after all?

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    1. Such a barrage of Venetian experiences either means you're supposed to visit Venice again very soon, Andreas, or, on the other hand, that you don't need to hurry, as it sounds like you have some very pleasant reminders of it close to home--and with none of the tourist crowds or hassles of travel. The nice thing about such signs is that they leave a lot of room to interpret them as you like! But maybe such signs just come with living in the "Venice of the North". (It might be nice if Venice in some ways could become the "Stockholm of the South".)

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    2. I'm not sure either, but after a short period of abscence I find myself once again surfing Immobiliare. :) Stockholm has lots going for it especially during the brief summer months. A dinner cruise through the archipelago with a classic Smorgasbord is a lovely experience.
      I get a bit curious about Venice becoming Stockholm of the South? What is Venice lacking of what Stockholm have do you think?

      As I'm writing this on a train I just remembered a silly Venice related story. Back in the 80s there was a Korean couple on their honeymoon that bought a train ticket for Venice in Stockholm Central station. They got their ticket and boarded the night train. The problem was that there is, in the North of Sweden, a small village which sounds a bit like Venice, if Venice is mispronounced badly enough, so the following morning the newlyweds found themselves not surrounded by the splendour of la Serenissima but on a frosty platform in the north. The error was quickly corrected and the couple is also rumoured to have returned. All is well that ends well!

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    3. I wish I could compare Venice to Stockholm, Andreas, as that would mean I'd actually been to Stockholm! But, unfortunately, I've only read about it and seen some pictures. I've always thought it sounded great, and last summer I met an American singer and artist who has made a life there. Some day we'll get there for a visit.

      I like your story: it's a hazard of night trains--and accents--I'd never considered before. I can only imagine where my faulty pronunciation in various languages & parts of the world would have me end up.

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