I have referred already to the difficult task of navigating the streets of Venice.  I had another experience of this, this afternoon.  

One thing to be said for the streets of Venice is that there are NO CARS.  In fact it's quite a rare thing for any of us these days to have such an experience.

This evening, after penne with four cheeses, roast chicken and fries, and sorbetto al limone, I walked down to St. Mark's Square and discovered that I could walk freely, seeing where I was going, to a great length along the shore of the lagoon.  

I am in my hotel's lobby, reading the local papers.  There was an accident yesterday, a vaporetto (floating city bus) colliding with a barge, and seven people were hurt.  I was not there.

Thursday evening was seafood night.  I had spaghetti alle vongole -- the signature pasta around here, with clams in garlic and oil.  I loved it.  Then, fried shrimp and squid, which was likewise very tasty.  I learned that sorbetto al limone is to be drunk, not spooned out.

Not much to report regarding Friday.  This hotel room has the comfort I found lacking in Rome.  I ended up sleeping a lot.  Friday's dining: prosciutto and melon, spaghetti alla carbonara, salad, and an Averna amaro.

It's Saturday morning (I was up in time to partake of the hotel's breakfast, served on very nice china) and my task was to find a laundry.  I found one close by, but it is closed Saturday and Sunday.  In 1997 I forgot to pack any socks, and so I was washing my socks in my room every night.  I may have to resort to similar arrangements until I get back to Rome and the friendly neighborhood laundry.

My hotel is very close to St. Mark's.  I must confess that I have little ambition to sightsee beyond this area.  I do want to get to the original ghetto, but today is not the day, since it's the Sabbath.