Backstreet Venice: Undiscovered Shopping Country

We agree with Fran Lebowitz who wrote: "...if you read a lot, nothing is as great as you've imagined... but Venice is ...Venice is even better."


No matter how many times we visit Venice, we find new beauties, undiscovered (at least to us) alleyways, and new neighborhoods that offer a peek behind the façade of this shimmering light-filled city. We love the area around the Teatro la Feince and on this morning, we started our wanderings there.

With no set destination in mind (which is a good way to see the hidden treasures of the city), we stopped off in the Church of St. Stefano, where Baroque music was being played... and worked our way toward an exhibit we wanted to see in the grand Palazzo Grassi, located on the Grand Canal. While the exhibit was glorious, the unexpected happened, as it so often does in Venice: we fell in love with a neighborhood we'd never been in before.

The neighborhood of San Samuele is named for the Church of San Samuele, an ancient Venetian church with a 12th century Campanile, frescoes and paintings, just outside of the Palazzo Grassi. Leaving the church, we walked along the narrow streets between the Palazzo and the Church, until we reached Salizada S. Samuele (pictured left) -- a beautiful street filled with shops where you can see new views of old crafts.

The shop Chiarastella Cattana displays textiles that are designed and woven in the finest tradition of Italian weaving. The tablecloths, towels and bedspreads that we found there "dress each room like woven frescos." You may purchase the items displayed there, or request a special commission that suits your own preferences.


Across the way, is a branch of the famed Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy, home of the oils, soaps and fragrances that have been a part of the Italian aristocracy's everyday life since 1612, and now available to the rest of us. We also loved Franca Sanna's Galleria Perl'A and Forme d'Arte.

Fortunately, one is never too far from a good meal in Italy, and we loved our lunch at the Osteria Al Bacareto at the top of the street with a view toward the galleries and shops of this elegantly turned out square. Don't miss Gallery Holly Snapp just across the street from the restaurant.  Buon Appetito!

D.C.'s Neighborhood Watch: Shopping Close to Home Revives the Holiday Spirit

Sometimes you don't know how much you appreciate your own home and neighborhood until you travel to a foreign place where home, family and friends have special meaning.


Our first trip to Southeast Asia was in December 2001. We left the U.S. in mid-December and returned home in early January. The Christmas buying frenzy was in full-swing when we left and was over by the time we returned home.

While away, we visited Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, three countries that are predominantly Buddhist and also quite poor by Western standards. Although the hotels catering to Western tourists generally offered a special "Christmas" meal and a Christmas tree decorated each lobby, there was otherwise no evidence of the kind of holiday Christmas had become in the U.S.  People weren't rushing around laden with shopping bags and there were no storefront signs touting sales or other holiday shopping opportunities.
 
It was a revelation. We were instantly transported back to a time before Christmas became about the shopping, when the emphasis was on family, faith and exchanging with loved ones simple, often handmade or homemade gifts.

We'll be home for Christmas this year and this time, especially, we will try to focus our gift-giving with that earlier sensibility in mind. For one thing, we intend to shop locally, buying as much as possible from our small, one-of-a-kind neighborhood shops and boutiques. With the economy poor, many of the small, single-location merchants down the street are struggling to weather the downturn and with much less ability to do so than the chain stores. 


So, we plan to make our purchases within our neighborhoods and will patronize the entrepreneurs who bring variety right next door. We also plan to continue our commitment to buying handmade and artisanal products. When we enter a shop we start by asking "What do you have that's made locally?" and almost always the shopkeeper can point to one and sometimes many items that fit the bill.
 
If we keep these principles in mind, we know that not only will our own shopping experience be more enjoyable and we're also sure our gifts will have more meaning for the recipient because of the extra measure of love, caring and thought has gone into selecting the gift.

Below are a few of the places we love right here in Washington, D.C. We want to know what shops in your neighborhood you recommend for holiday shopping that achieves these goals.  Please respond by posting your ideas here on our blog.