Next Venetian observation: Fur coats.
There is no anti fur lobby here. Everybody is wearing fur coats, hats or wraps. Some smell of moth balls when it gets warmer inside! The coats are worn casually with jeans or the old ladies are dressed to the nines with hats, full makeup & dripping jewellery!

Well tonight was different. The room was extremely full over 250 people. I guess it's legal capacity was 150 max!! The only fire exit was blocked by a table & two ladies selling books. This is Italy. who cares about rules & regulations. The two people in front of me kept talking. even after I told them to shut up! People were looking & I didn't want them to think it was me. Then the guy next to me started heckling.... & the number of phones that went off.... I was glad to get out.

So different from the highly organised & beautiful service for the Week of Christian Unity that I went to in Basillica San Marco last Friday evening. All the clergy from the different denominations were present & who cared what they were saying when I could look around & admire all the gold mosaics without being told to move along. Plus the gold screen had been turned around for us. An honour.
At the end of the service everyone was invited up to the altar & given a candle, I was stood within inches of the screen. The lady who kept beconning me to move closer to the altar was at the service I went to on Sunday morning - I recognised the fur coat, hat & bright red nail varnish. She had no English but also remembered me from Friday, she asked what denomination I was from & when I said Methodista she said bellissima - the best! Can't argue with that!

Just called in at the wine bar on my way home & had delicious ciccetti & a glass of red wine. Now I must go & heat the mushroom soup I made yesterday with the leftover mushrooms from last night's risotto.