I know exactly where to take you for this week’s ABC Wednesday post! Come with me to Venice – I found a great shop there, just behind Piazza San Marco: the Ferrari shop! And how neat is this – since I name all my ABC picture files using the letter plus numbers, the name of that picture is ‘F1‘! How fitting!
No, I didn’t go in and buy anything, and I have no clue how they got that thing in there, since there are no roads for cars in this district. I can only assume that somehow it came by boat. I’d love to have seen them do that, wouldn’t you?
Imagine a Ferrari being ferried down one of these narrow backwaters!
No shops in that picture, I fear, but there is plenty of washing flapping like flags among the flowers.
By the way, guess what they use as ferries on the Grand Canal? Decommissioned gondolas! Once their life as a tour boat is over, they have the fancy seats taken out and the gold plated fittings removed and the old gondolas are used as ferries to take shoppers from one bank to the other.
Fun? Maybe, but I didn’t like the way you had to stand up on the way over during ‘rush hour’. With my luck, I’d have fallen in.
No need to worry about that on the island of Murano. The canal here is hardly wide enough to need a ferry, and the bridges are frequent.
You might be able to spot an ‘F‘ in that row of shops, too – ‘F.lli Moretti’, which I presume is short for ‘Fratelli Moretti’, or ‘Moretti Bros’.
While we were on Murano, we had lunch. Fairly ordinary thing to do, I hear you say, but it turned into an adventure for me, because the speciality of all of the food places over there seemed to be fish – and I am allergic to some types of fish. Very allergic. But I was famished, and we found a place and sat down. Here’s a shot of the menu.
If you have very sharp eyes for fine print, you’ll see that there are only a handful of items on that menu which do not contain fish. There are fish appetisers, pasta with fish, fish dishes, fish, fish, and more fish. That small piece of paper there in front says (among other things) ‘Sono molto allergica al pesce. Il mio cibo deve essere cucinato separatamente dal pesce*’ and was written for me by the lovely T, because Italian is her mother tongue. It quite possibly saved my life because the people in this trattoria took it very seriously and cooked me something special, entirely separately from all the fish.
When we got back to the main island, we took a walk. Wandering through the funny little back streets and investigating the various shops on the way, I found this little gem. A photography shop – and since that’s spelled with an ‘F‘ in Italy, I feel quite justified in including it.
See that row of pictures by the door? Who is that famous fellow at the bottom there, the one with the white shirt? You know who, don’t you? Yep, Johnny Depp himself! It was taken at the Venice Film Festival in 2003. What a find, huh? There’s a short clip from an interview taken that year here on YouTube if you fancy it. He’s looking just as he is in that picture – which is just fine by me.
The fair hair, by the way, is because he’d just finished shooting Secret Window. It’s his ‘Mort Rainey’ hair.
* I am very allergic to fish. My food must be cooked separately from fish.
What an enjoyable post. I was in Venice many years ago so this was a fun read. Maybe the Ferrari came in pieces and they assembled it in the store! haha!
God! I am DYING to visit Italy one of these days! And, I’d love to stop in the Ferrari shop!
‘F’antastic job on the letter F!
.-= meleah rebeccah´s last blog ..Sitting ‘Shoulda’ =-.
Enjoyed reading your post and the great pictures. Thing about the Ferrari is, how are they going to deliver it when they sell it???
Love your post for the F Day! I have been to Italy, but didn’t get to Venice and I’ve always regretted that! Love all your photos! They’re Fantastic! Hope your week is going well!
Sylvia
.-= Sylvia Kirkwood´s last blog ..Thats My World! =-.
wow, this is a very expensive post… how much is one? ahahaha….thanks for sharing?
love your post too!
My ABC Wednesday here
And Here Too
hope you can drop by, Have A Nice Day!
A fantastic, fanciful, fishy F post! Love your stories and the photos.
I seem to be Failing with F today at least. Maybe tomorrow.
.-= Carol´s last blog ..Junk Mail =-.
Where I used to live we had a Moretti’s restaurant! I would love to see Venice someday. With or without Johnny Depp.
Thanks for participating.
Donna – ABC Wednesday
What, no fish?! I LOVE fish!
Great mix of F words in the narrative!
On behalf of ABC Wednesday team, thank you! – ROG
.-= Roger Green´s last blog ..F is for Former Names =-.
Beautiful post… loved the Pictures!!A narrative with lots of F-words and loved the subtle humour too
Been to Italy not Venice, been on a boat which ferries you from the Ship to the shore and did’t like the wobbly boats either 
OH I’m loving travelling with you this week. I’m not going to Venice but will be in Tuscany soon . . I love fish but I think we’re cooking pasta. You’re in fine fettle!
.-= Baino´s last blog ..She said =-.
Looks like you had a fabulous trip there! I rather cross the bridge than taking that ferry!
.-= Jama´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday – F =-.
[...] F is for Ferrari by the Depp Effect [...]
riding on a gondola would be my dream, the nearest I have been is an imitation one in a Casino in the Malaysian Highlands.
You enjoy your trip,
.-= ann chin, New Zealand´s last blog ..ABC Wednesday- Fountain =-.
Never been. Love to go though. Doesn’t look as romantic as I’d always pictured…standing in a gondola. My favorite shot is the ‘down the canal’ shot. Just timeless. Great ‘F’s!
.-= Sistertex at Spacial Peepol´s last blog ..Dry Sink =-.
I was worried there – then all was well cos you mentioned Johnny Depp! lol!
Denise
ABC Team
.-= Denise´s last blog ..Frugal Food- fun and Friends! =-.
That’s a clever idea to have that note with you! Saved you from a ferry ride into the nearest floating hospital!
.-= Mara´s last blog ..How does John Splinter get through winter =-.
That’s a lot of FUN, FINE, and FANTASTIC F words…
smart post.
.-= Jingle´s last blog ..The Future Will Be Divine =-.
What a beautiful place.
.-= Anthony North´s last blog ..FRUSTRATIONS =-.
A beautiful place in beautiful weather. Thank goodness you had a friend to look after you in the restaurant.
.-= jabblog uk´s last blog ..Midweek Blues =-.
ouch! i love fish ha ha..anyway, i wonder if the water will go up high ’til to the buildings..
Thanks for the visit.
When we finish in Venice, can we go to Florence? Pleeeeaassse? Wonderful shots of a beautiful city. Italy is on my bucket list of places to visit. Thanks for the sneak peek.
.-= LisaF´s last blog ..A farrago of words =-.
Gorgeous place to see, even just through the screen of computer! Fantastic photos!
.-= Blessing Reflections´s last blog ..Black Sand Beach =-.
Fuck me, this was a great blogpost! Well, I had to keep with the “F” theme, didn’t I?
.-= Mr. Nighttime´s last blog ..Change of place =-.
Fabulous post. Fantastic photos (foto’s it would be in Dutch) and finds. Who’d expect to find Johnny’s picture there?
.-= brinkbeestinenglish´s last blog ..100 things I love about the Netherlands- 5 =-.
your jaunts aroud town so inviting and the colors fun !!sandy
.-= sandy´s last blog .. =-.
Wow, what beautiful photos! (but I must say the last one is my fav… I wonder why? I LOVED Secret Window!)
You are so good with these posts. I could never do them.
.-= Maureen´s last blog ..Out With The Old =-.