Some Random Shots

It's fun to walk around Venice looking for random stuff to photograph. 


In the photo to the left, the sun lit some stars and flags.

Near the Rialto is a small bar that is literally a hole in the wall, open to the outside with about enough room inside for two people. Yet, they have a big TV on the wall and a rather elaborate stereo system.

 One of the local grocery stores had these salamis shaped like my dog Leopold, which the Italians call Leopoldo. We sometimes just call him Pold. They not only look like him, they have his name.














One of the specialties of Venice is a dish called "Sepia Nero," which is a sauce made with the ink of the cuttlefish, which the Venetians call "Sepia." It takes some getting used to because it is black. Sometimes served with spaghetti, sometimes rice, and sometimes just polenta, the cornmeal staple of Venice. Here are some Sepia in their natural form. You must try it, though, because it's usually quite good, an the effects on your teeth are amusing and temporary.




These are some random fish that seemed to be calling to me for help. I believe they are beyond saving.

Right: one of my favorite watering holes decorated for Christmas

 Roasted pork at a stand in Campo San Polo

Even kids have to wear boots during high water.

How not to park a boat

Rosary for the really bad kids -->

What's for dinner, mom?

One of my local heroes. Them's big jugs of wine.

An out of the way shrine

                             Raw licorice 

 Did you know that an artichoke is merely the flower of a thistle?

Everything in Venice comes in by boat, even cement.

Creative fish display at the Rialto Fish Market

Chinese art installation during the Biennale

A view from my dentist's chair

I didn't know you had to use any gimmicks to get kids to eat baloney

In Venice when you graduate with their version of a doctorate  you may go through a hazing ceremony where they dress you up funny in something related to your degree, make you read horrible things about yourself, throw gunk on you, and make you drink. I have seen these people not able to get up. The bottle is usually taped to a hand.

The street lamps in Venice are tinted rose and make great shadows

There are scorpions in Venice

This is one of the most interesting vegetables I have ever seen. It is a green cauliflower, and is a big point, which is covered in smaller points, which are covered in smaller points, ad infinitum, all of which are identical. 

On of the more interesting (and hard to find) wells in Venice. It is in a public space, but not exactly on the beaten path. If you ever find it, send me a picture.

My fish guy in Campo Santa Margherita is cleaning one of the other treasures of the sea eaten in Venice. Unlike the Greeks, who generally grill the tentacles, the Venetians usually eat it cold chopped up in a salad with celery. I don't know what it is about celery and octopus, but they go together like peaches and cream. A delicious combination.