Gold Ring Con in Venice

Recently I have approached twice by people pretending to find a gold ring in the street, and then asking for money for it. Here’s how it works:

As you walk down the street a person will rapidly come toward you, and a short distance in front of you pick up a large ring laying in the street. The ring appears to be solid gold. They will ask you whether it’s yours. You of course did not drop a ring, particularly in a place where you have not walked yet. You say no, and attempt to go your way. They will follow you and try to give it to you. Your natural reaction is to refuse it, and tell them it’s their lucky day. Then they will give you some story about being allergic to gold (gold is inert, no one is allergic to it), or not liking jewelry, or some such nonsense. In the end, they will be such a pain in the ass about you keeping it that you finally give in and take it. You go your way, and they pretend to go theirs. Then they come back and demand money for it.


I don’t know whether the ring is gold or not, but I know someone who paid five Euros to the person and got the ring. Even if the ring is 14 karat gold, it would probably be worth a few hundred bucks at a pawn shop. There are no identifying marks on it, other than a very small stamp on the inside appearing to be the gold stamp. I’m guessing, though, that the ring is worthless.

So, if you travel in Italy there are a few rules to remember.

1.   Don’t take anything from anybody. Beggars and con men will often try to hand you something, like an envelope, or a rose, and then want money. I have even heard of them handing you a baby, and then going through your pockets. Simply refuse, and don’t worry about being polite. They are crooks and liars.

2.   Don’t let anyone get too close to you. If you are in a crowd, well, you’re in a crowd, but otherwise try to keep your distance.

3.   Do not take voluntary assistance from anyone. Unless you are a little old lady struggling to get her suitcase over a bridge, no Venetian is going to help you. There are Gypsies, particularly at the bridges near the train station and Piazzale Roma who will grab your bag acting all helpful, and at the other end demand money. Also, people will greet you at the train station and assist you in finding your train and your seat, and likewise demand money. There is no one at the train station to help you. If you fall for either of these scams, refuse to give them money. What they are doing is illegal.

4.   Beware of anyone (other than fellow tourists) asking you for directions. They will come up and put a map under your face with one hand, and go through your pockets with the other.

5.   Beware of swarms of young girls. They are out to pick your pocket.

            Do some research before you come as to what scams are out there, and always be suspicious of any Italian offering you any kind of assistance. Venice is safe and generally free of scam artists, other than the beggars, but you still need to use ordinary care. There are plenty of pick-pockets.

Note: There are porters in Venice near the Vaporetto stop for St. Mark's, but they have badges and a list of fees. They are worth every penny, but make sure you know the fee in advance.

Gondolas are Made of Wood

Gondola with bottom stripped

 Once I was showing some people around Venice from my home state of Michigan. Very nice people and a lot of fun. They were boaters and professed to know about boats. When I showed them the boat yard where gondolas are built and repaired, they swore that they were made of fiberglass. They were expert on the subject, and no amount of argument to the contrary would satisfy them that gondolas are in fact built entirely of wood (with the exception of a small amount of metal trim).

Over the course of last summer my friend Roberto, who is a gondolier by trade, had one built. Included here is a picture of his gondola on the form they use to construct them. The other day I noticed that one of the gondolas had had its bottom stripped of all paint, revealing the wood underneath. This is the first time I have seen a gondola being repaired with all the paint off the bottom. So I took a picture.

Roberto's gondola under construction

So, friends, as you ride around Venice in a gondola, you can be sure that the boat you are in is made of wood. All of it. Seven different types of wood, and over two-hundred pieces. And they are still made here by hand.

Coolest bar/café in Venice

 When one travels to Italy from the US, it becomes clear very quickly that Italians do not care about air conditioning or ice, although their country is hot as hell. Mood Café in Venice at Campo Santa Margherita has both.

Most bars and restaurants in Venice have signs touting them as being “air conditioned.” Don’t believe it. How can the place be cool if the outside temperature is 90, with 90% humidity, and the door is open? Mood Café, however, is indeed air conditioned and cool inside, even with the door open.


In addition to being cool inside, Mood has one of the best, if not the best, selections of beer in Venice. Not Italian beers, mind you, but a huge selection of Belgians on tap and in the bottle, as well as American, German and English. For example, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Brooklyn Beer. Oh, you want Italian beer? Fine, go somewhere and have an Italian beer. Then, after you realize that they generally suck, come to mood, be cool and comfortable, and drink some decent beer.

Max

 Mood also has a great selection of sandwiches, and during lunch, Max will make you a wonderful salad, and he has a great hamburger.

To top it all off, there is always an English language newspaper available.

So, if you want to cool off after walking around Venice on a hot day, go to Mood Café on Campo Santa Margherita. Look for the black table cloths. Tell them Mike sent you.

Photographs of Venice

To look at my best and most recent photos of Venice go here. To see some other photos, click one of the links below

venice photos

italy photos

gondola photos

I wrote a Book

I am the artistic type. Even as a teenager I painted, wrote music, and wrote stories.  As an adult I have done a lot of painting, the results of which can be seen here, and now I have written a couple of novels. One novel is in the process of being reviewed by an editor, and being rewritten, while the other I published on Amazon for the Kindle to see what would happen.

The story available on Kindle is about a boy who, shortly after turning 18, and in the midst of proving to his parents that he is no longer a child, but a bona fide grown man, meets a ghost, which is living in an abandoned house. This sets his feet on the path of conflict with the ghost, his parents, his best friend, and the cops. The book can be previewed here, and a trailer video I made is here. The book can be downloaded from Kindle for a measly buck forty nine.  Give it a look see, as you can download a part of it to your Kindle for free. The book is called “The Ghost of Caroline Wald.”

There is Justice in the World

I often criticize the Italians for being rude and downright obnoxious, primarily to tourists, on whom, ironically, they rely for their livelihood. When I mention this to other Americans, they often tell me that while this is true, the French are much worse, many of them having recently been in France.

 

Today while having lunch at a café in Campo Santa Margherita, I observed the Italian waitress be unbelievably rude to some French tourists. The café is called the Orange Café, and can be identified by the orange chairs outside. One of the waitresses there is particularly unfriendly, and should thank God she does not rely on tips. She is so unfriendly that I usually will not go there if I see her. Her manner is unpleasant and rude, and she is clearly quite unhappy in her chosen profession. I don’t know her name, and don’t care to know it.

 

Today, being Sunday, our usual haunt, Imagina Café, where the waiters are very pleasant and helpful, was closed. We therefore chose the Orange Café because they have some decent light fare for lunch. They were obviously having some sort of kitchen issue, as it was taking a coon’s age to get any food. Next to us was a table of Frenchmen who apparently had ordered some food before we got there. There was another table of French on the other side of us who ordered at the same time we did.

 

After a reasonable length of time had passed with no sign of the food, one of the French from the first group signaled the waitress herein above mentioned, and asked about the order. The waitress, after ignoring the woman for an appropriately rude length of time, told her that this was a bar, not a restaurant.

 

Ah, well, even I, who had eaten there dozens of times in the past three years, had been fooled. I was fooled by the fact that they served complete meals, by the fact that there was a fairly extensive menu, and by the fact that the menu said it was restaurant. I was offended, although the remark was not directed to me, and although the victims were French.

 

Finally their food came, and then my food came. I ate, finished, and paid, all before the other French people got their food. I felt bad for all of them. But not for long. I shortly saw the humor in it, and had to laugh out loud, even while sitting at the table between the two groups of French.

 

Most tourists will tell you that, when in France, they are treated like something to be scraped off the bottom of ones shoe. The French, when in Venice, are a pain in the ass. They sit on bridges (don’t do that, it is horribly obnoxious), and I have had French people ask me for directions to a place I knew, as it is about a two minute walk from my house, but they refused to believe my directions, and went off in the wrong direction. Okay, fine, I could give a rat’s ass. But the rudeness and obnoxiousness of it go beyond the pale. So, when these people at the Orange Café were treated like shit, I was happy to see them get some of their own medicine. And I’m not even sure they understood how rude the waitress was–she made her comment in English, and as anyone who has been to France knows, they don’t speak English. It only goes to show that if you live long enough, you will see justice done.

 

As an aside, I have to add that one should not generalize about a people. I gave a photography tour to some French people the other day, and they were delightful. In my experience, though, they were the exception.

 

Tipping in Venice

One of the most commonly asked questions is what is the tipping policy in Italy. The answer is that it is not expected or required to leave a tip. Period. If you are inclined to do so because the service was good, then only a few Euros. I almost never leave a tip.

In the U.S. it is customary to tip 15-20% because the servers are paid less than minimum wage, and they rely on tips to earn a living. This is part of American culture. But only Americans leave tips. In some places, such as Germany, you may leave the change, but not 15 or 20% of the bill. But generally, non-Americans do not tip.

Some restaurants in Venice are in business to grub money from tourists, not to serve good food, and should be avoided. The waiters know that Americans leave tips. They are constantly asked by Americans whether the tip is included. Only Americans ask this, because everyone else in the world knows that it is—the question makes no sense to people from other countries, and marks you as an American (as if they couldn’t already tell). For that reason, if the waiter in these places thinks you are American, they will tell you that the tip is not included. They will bring you a bill that shows a 12% service charge, and still tell you that the tip is not included. They will tell you that this is a tax, or that it not for them, it’s for the owner. These are both out-and-out lies, and amounts to fraud. A bona fide restaurant will never mention a tip. (Note, for example, that there is no place on the credit card receipt to add a tip)

How do you tell which to avoid? Here are some clues:

1) They stand outside and all but drag you in. A good restaurant would never do this. This seems to me little better than begging in the streets. These people only want to get your money. The first thing a good restaurant will often ask is whether you have a reservation.

2) There are 10,000 things on the menu. A decent restaurant will have only a handful of things in each category on the menu. That is, a few appetizers, four or five pasta courses, and four or five main courses. If the menu looks like Denny’s or the Double-T Diner, run.

3) There are photos of the food on the menu. Self explanatory.

4) They have a tourist menu. Again, self explanatory.

5) They are always open. Reputable restaurants in Venice close at about 2:30 (if they serve lunch) and do not open again until 6:00 or 7:00 p.m.

What to look for in a good restaurant: Generally, the good restaurants will be small, have only a handful of tables, and may have the menu taped to the window written on a place mat (a kind of mustard-colored paper).

There are exceptions to every rule. For example, Gianni’s on the Zattere (identified by its bright yellow chairs) violates most of these rules, but will never beg for a tip. The food is good and the service prompt and polite. It is also in a beautiful spot on a little pier over the Giudecca Canal. They serve a wide variety of food that should please most adults, and they will have something for the kids.

An exception in the other direction, i.e., a restaurant that is less obviously a money grubber because they do not do everything I mentioned above, but is one of the more egregious violators because they bill you a 12% service charge and then tell you tip is not included, and that the 12% is a tax (which, again, is a bold faced lie), is Ai Tosi near the Rialto Market at Sotoportego del Capeler. The food is okay, the service fairly quick and attentive, but the tip thing keeps from going there, and Americans who go there should just ignore the request for a tip.

A note on the “coperto:” This literally means “cover,” and is a standard charge in all restaurants in Italy, which they say covers the cost of the bread. It is usually 2-3 Euros per person, but can be more in fancy places. I don’t take exception to this because everyone does it, and everyone (even Italians) have to pay it—it does not single out Americans.