I have developed my own work-arounds for the breakfast challenge. I'll usually make myself some eggs or grab a tramezzino someplace quiet. But today I woke up with a very particular craving: Olive Bread from Panificio Crosara. And yet again I have to confess that the place is not new to me since I probably couldn't crave something that I had never tried. I've been going there for the olive bread for more than ten years! That's long before I even started this project. And yet, it wasn't until today that it occurred to me that if I would go to Palanca for a single slice of olive bread other people might like it too. So, after entirely too long of a wait, Panificio Crosara is taking the top spot in our Bakeries section today!
Meanwhile, I am living near Campo Sant'Angelo which puts me in extremely dangerous shopping territory. If I turn one way, I'll end up at La Fenice near Galeria San Marco. Another way, I'd end up on Calle XXII Marzo where almost every Italian fashion house - Prada, Gucci, Bulgari, Malo - has a flagship store. Yet another way, and only a few moment walk away and I'm in Calle Botteghe which is annually becoming more and more of an artisnal and antique paradise. Calle Botteghe was, of course, my first choice. I saw several shops that I recognized L'Isola, Laura Crovato, Giorgio Mastinu. But it was the new, fun and bright one that really caught my eye...
Darma Bijoux has really cool and unusual jewelry! Their mixed-media pieces incorporate Murano glass beads, recycled materials, unusual findings a bright colors. 90% of the pieces for sale were original designs of the owners. (The others were all by contemporary Venetian artisans whose work is also unique.) What I loved about the Darma Bijoux pieces was their completely unique combination of textures- smooth beads, bumpy paper-mache, cool metals. It seems that giving them the top spot in our Murano Glass Jewelry section is the only way I can thank them for letting me touch everything in their shop! Grazie!
Enjoy!