Palmabella's Passions

It seems like every visit to Venice involves at least one rainy day, and I translate that to SHOPPING. If we must "Make hay while the sun shines", why not "Make purchases while the rain pours?" It is lovely to wader through different sestieri and take the time to wander side streets. You can always duck into a cafe or bar for a coffee or glass of wine. We bought a beautiful marbled paper frame, some gifts, and a VERY lovely necklace and shawl (photos when I get home). We covered a lot of ground in San Polo, Dorsoduro, San Marco, and Cannaregio. After a short nap, we headed to happy hour and eventually to La Cantina for our "carnivore fix". Antipasti, lamb, duck and plenty of veggies were a yummy dinner.

It was an ALMOST perfect night. The rain stopped before dinner. Outdoor tables dried off. We walked back to near our B&B, and stopped for an late night coffee. I was half way through my cappuccino, when I gave Brad an opportunity to be my hero. About 8 feet from me, a RAT walked out of a hole in the wall, and began to make his way across the calle. My legs went up, I said "RAT!" (quite calmly, according to Brad), and turned my head away. He jumped up and scared the disgusting **cker back into its hole. He then "guarded" until I could get the check from our waiter (the slowest guy in Venice).

We always call Shannon an "AMAZING magnet." I guess that makes me the "rat magnet". It was still a great day in Venice. I will stick to Brad's earlier in the day's name for me. He called me the "shopping savant"! I do believe I bought the most beautiful glass bead necklace in all of Venice!