A new ornament

We got to add this little Gondolier ornament to our collection when we went to Italy over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Because Venice is so incredibly expensive, we stayed in nearby Vicenza, which just happens to have been the home of brilliant architect Paladio. If there had been one more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, his name probably would have been Paladio. He designed the house you see here. If this house doesn't look familiar to you, then you haven't looked at the back of a nickel recently. While Thomas Jefferson didn't travel here and see the site in-person, this building was already recognized as an architectural triumph in his day, and was published in several books on the subject. Jefferson used this building as inspiration for the back side of his own house, Monticello, located in Virginia. Interestingly, the house Paladio designed was built primarily for entertaining, features mostly common spaces, and looks the same from all four sides.

Kristin pretends she's an Italian model on a photo shoot in a glamorous location.

We also went to Nove, Italy. You've probably never heard of Nove. I hadn't either before I moved over here. Nove is one of those anoymous places where high-end "Made in Italy" goods are made. In this case, it's pottery. Nove is home to several pottery manufaturers that make some of the Tiffany, Lenox, and some other big name patterns. The good stuff that passes the rigorous quality inspections is shipped abroad to be sold at regular (and sometimes very high) catalog prices. The stuff that doesn't pass the rigorous quality inspections is retained by the manufacturer to be sold at steep discounts to those who visit. Which is what we did. You have to be kind of choosy on things, but we picked up 2 pieces of pottery for about $40 that Tiffany sells in their catalog for $200. So we had a good time bargain shopping there. The real reason we came, though, was because we knew that they made Kristin's Mom's pattern of china there, and that she needed a few more pieces to complete the set. Sensing an opportunity to get Mom Brooks some good gifts for several occasions, we bought for the whole family and stocked up, based on Melody's wish list. We ended up with a trunk stuffed with seven very large bags of pottery.

T'ain't no mo' room in the trunk! Melody Brook's Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary, Mother's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and every other day that she may require a present for the next few years are now covered.

For those traditionalists out there, no worries- we still had Turkey for Thanksgiving; we just had it before we left on our trip. For Thanksgiving day's dinner though, we ate Italian. Or something like that. We found a restaurant that had good reviews and showed up at the restaurant just as they were opening. We had the entire place to ourselves, and got to watch the staff, probably from the same family, finish dinner together before starting their night. It was a quaint little restaurant that had the feel of a small, family-run vineyard. Copper pots and pans hung from rafters and the walls everywhere as decoration. Supposedly, the place was so old, that it used to be a highway rest station back when people used horses for transportation, and Leonardo Da Vinci slept and ate there. We weren't totally convinced on that story, and took that like we might one of those New England "George Washington slept here" stories. We didn't have standard Italian food, though. I'm always willing to try some sort of exotic meat, so I opted for the kangaroo steak they had on their menu, and Kristin had cheese and pear stuffed ravioli.

What other weird things do Italians eat? Horse meat, evidently. We spotted this specialized butcher shop in Venice while walking around.

Our last day was spent in Venice. The Italians seem to have a highly developed sense of what should and should not be preserved. The buildings in St. Mark's Square that you see below are widely recognized as needing (and receiving) preservation. The rest of the city is beautifully decaying. Salt water and especially the recurring flooding of the city has it's effect on everything, but it's as if the Italians have carefully planned out with God exactly how nature will take it's course, and on which buildings.

The Lion of Saint Mark is posed prominently on the Obelisk on the Left. Before I lived in Greece, I didn't know that Venice used to be a huge trading and military power on the world stage, owning many territories outside of Italy. Most of those territories were in the Mediterranean, including my old home- the island of present day Crete, Greece. You can see several lions there even today, in various Venetian fortress and breastworks that remain.

An entire picture made of BLING! Kristin poses next to an altar piece made of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. Saint Mark's Cathedral, the church that we were in, is supposed to be the final resting place of the Apostle Mark, which is why the city took his symbols and used them as their own. We weren't supposed to be taking any pictures inside the church, but this was too breathtaking not to. The entire church, inside and out, is embellished with mosaic tiles, statuary, and precious treasures, artifacts, and relics. I can say confidently it's the most beautiful church I've ever been in.

Gondola rides are VERY expensive, but you might only go to Venice once, right?

What does an ambulance look like when your streets are made of water? Now you know.

Kristin and I got our waiter to take our picture outside a rooty-tooty cafe on Saint Mark's square. It was a little cold, so I had hot chocolate, Kristin had a machiato, and we shared a tiramisu. Everything came out to us on a silver tray. Note the walls: faded paint and crumbling stucco. All of Venice looks like this, to varying degrees. It's part of the look.