Fammi una domanda February 2025
Avoiding Carnevale crowds and my favorite San Remo song
For as long as January felt (and, I am January’s biggest fan!) February has seemed to fly. I have spent time with pals who were visiting from Rome eating pretty pastries and avoiding Carnevale crowds. It is full on Carnevale season in Venice now. Yes, the pictures you saw of the paralyzing crowds on the Rialto bridge last weekend were real. Everyone was trying to watch la Pantegana on the grand canal and crowd control was not well organized1. We steered clear all of that nonsense and instead went over to Lido and had a long lunch and walk in the sunshine and otherwise stayed in here in Castello until Sunday evening. Only venturing over towards Piazza San Marco when it had a festive non-overwhelming amount of activity and still plenty of people in costumes. I am eating my fill of frittelle, criss crossing the city to make sure I try all of my favorites and stopping to see favorite Tiepolo’s along the way. A sweet combination of confections that I recommend. Last night we went to the wild and wonderful water show at the Arsenale and tonight we are going to a costume party organized by my local international women’s club. We still have almost two more weeks until martedi grasso. I have so much more fritellle in my future!
Of course I stayed up (and coerced my pal to join me) until the wee hours for every night of San Remo. I am a devoted fan of the ridiculous spectacle, but overall I was pretty underwhelmed by this year’s event. My quick 2 cents; Giorgia was robbed and the world needs so much more Lucio Corsi in it.
Living in Venice, or even staying in Italy at all, was not always our plan. Three years ago we were preparing to move to Los Angeles. I love LA. Its natural beauty is obvious. The rest of its charm can be harder to find if you don’t have a local showing you the way to see past the sprawl. The emergency part of the catastrophic fires has passed and now the city faces the far more difficult, What Next? KCRW is where I get my California news and is a trusted source for how to help. A favorite LA resident’s podcast always has a thoughtful look at California food and dining. I would love to go to this years Frieze. If you are planning a trip, here is a map my favorite places in Los Angeles. If you are missing LA, watch a movie. La La Land is my favorite movie to watch on a long plane journey. LA Story is still absolutely delightful. I love the architecture tour in 500 Days of Summer. This podcast discusses many more.
Paid subscribers can ask me questions, (are curious about visiting Venice during Carnevale?) find out about a ravishing jumble of a show in one of my favorite palaces, and what I thought about a book about a glassmaker on Murano.