Venice,
the last leg of the journey.
We arrived to Venice late in the afternoon with a few hours to spare before taking a train to Bologna. The rain was pouring down, we left luggage in storage at an excruciating price and went for a wet walk. It’s low season some say, but we were part of huge crowds.
No umbrella and a quick walk around to see this magnificent city. I had an agenda though.
Since 2012 I had this book called Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts). I bought it because of the exposed spine and beautiful graphic design. Photography in the book is so inviting you can almost taste the food. It’s more of a love letter to author’s period in life, to food, produce and the city and people of Venice. I would flip through it looking for inspiration, sometimes for food, sometimes for life.
I had this book for 12 years, and it lived through many moments with me. At the end of the book author (who then went on to open Polpo, where as a young adult in London I loved treating myself to fanc tiny plates) lists recommended places for food, including some places for cicchetti. Tiny sandwiches I stared at for 12 years in this book, with glasses of wine looking so perfectly capable of quenching thirst, healing hearts and give direction in life. One of the places on the list was open, we made our way, completely soaked, hungry, cold… and I am so grateful for this charming place and that we managed to get there within our short stop.
It sold wine mostly, and also cicchetti. The counter offered over 20 different types, with the sandwiches being replenished now and then. We gobbled down an insane amount of delicious cicchetti, with some wine to accompany. Just standing there at the bar, honestly, it was as good as I imagined.
Venice left a really complicated impression on me (I have been here some 16 years ago for a few days).
But here is what I thought the moment we got on the train and wrote it down, so here it is, almost unfiltered.
I felt relaxed (maybe that’s just what I knew from the book, that one ought to feel relaxed in Venice) and wanted to enjoy the moment & just be, walk, observe, soak it in.
It is so iconic, so many times reproduced, and it made me think of Sasek and Steinberg (some of my favourite illustrators), this place is unreal. No surprise it has such a grip on us. What a beautiful, magical, magnetic place. Cheap and fun food, such a good social vibe. Of course, Peggy Guggenheim wanted to have her own palazzo here.
P.S. It’s also vile, overcrowded, completely insane, full of shit, crap food and disposable items for sale.
But thank you for lunch.
The long train trips ended there, and I also went to visit a friend of mine who is studying in Bologna now, I didn’t draw much. Because I was too busy eating, walking and enjoying the sunshine. Also because Italy was such an overload on all my senses I could barely hear my thoughts.