Breakfast at the hotel was excellent. They even had Linzertorte today. We took the vaporetto to the Chiesa di San Stae (Eustaceus), where there was an exhibit of working models of Leonardo da Vinci. The ads said you could touch them and play with them, but there was a sign on all of them: "Non toccare."

Then we went by vaporetto to an exhibit of "I Faraoni," the Pharaohs. It's lovely that the Italians take their childrens from school to museums, but do they all have to go at once to the museum we want to visit? The line was so long, we chose instead to go to the Rialto market and buy tsatschkes. We strolled through the produce market, where there were beautiful fruits and vegetables from all over the world, better than Bread & Circus, except here everything is non toccare, as well.

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The fish market was enormous, probably the largest in the world. There were fish from local waters and fish from Indonesia. There were mounds of black squid, whole swordfish with sword intact, live crabs, eels...you name it. Most of it was still moving on the ice. It's something to see fresh eels, cut into and bloody, their spinal cords severed in several places, still writhing.

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We stopped for some a sandwich and wine for lunch. Having sampled the gelato in only 15 stands, we felt pressured, with only one day left, to try all 1743 of them that are in Venice, in order to arrive at a proper assessment. I fear we will have failed, but what a way to go.

I spent the afternoon resting, after meeting Fabio Stecca, Director of Marketing for the hotel, who told me that the room we were staying in was not, by any means, their best room. He took me to a room that was a bit larger, though not by much, but with sunshine playing in from two sides, with a view of a side canal and singing gondolieri below. Although the fixtures were a bit more plush, I thought the view from our room was ideal. (ask for room 504). Part of the hotel is renovated, and part of it is not. At my request, he showed me an unrenovated standard room. It was tiny, with a queen-size bed, and a half-length bathtub. You wouldn't like it. Then Farklempt asked if he could buy one of the great hotel bathrooms. Mr. Stecca inquired with the concierge, who told him it would be 75€. Farklempt smiled and said he'd think about it. The minute I got back to the room, the phone rang, and it was Mr. Stecca, calling to say he had spoken to the manager, and that the bathrobe would be at a special price to me--60€ for one, and 50€ each if I buy two. Do you think Farklempt can be bought for such a low discount? Think again! If I were Mr. Stecca, I would have given one as a gift for the fine review I am writing. Would Farklempt accept such a gift? Do the ethics of travel reviewers permit it? You betcha!

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We watched the "A" part of the attack on Iraq on CNN. What a business. CNN is "embedded" with our forces. They even have their own doctor-correspondent "embedded" with our troops, taking his gas mask off and on. "Embedded?" What the hell does that mean? Does that mean "in bed with?" Just who is doing the fucking here, and who is getting fucked? Asked if the troops on the aircraft carriers are aware of what is going on, a retired general, now a CNN correspondent, says, "Of course they do, they're all watching CNN. Rummie calls it a campaign of shock and awe--sounds like the High Holidays. And the intense bombardment of Baghdad, described in awe by everyone on the air as "magnificent," "astounding," and all other superlatives. Everyone kisses everyone's ass. We watch the miniature mushroom clouds going off and the city in flames. Our emotions? Detached, as though we were watching an action flic? Thrilled, as though we were watching an action flic? Mouth open, as it always is during the grand finale of the fireworks on the 4th of July in Newport, on the Esplanade, or in Providence. Wow!! And they replay the show again and again and again--just like the planes hitting the Towers and the Towers falling. What is this doing to our characters? To our children? To our values? And to the Iraqis? We need a yearly day of observance in this country, to reflect on what we did at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in Vietnam, and now in Iraq. Some of it was necessary, some of it not. All of it resulted in disastrous loss of life, and none of it was a great adventure.

Back to Venice. Our last night. We returned to a restaurant that we had passed the night before, attracted by the bright and friendly interior, and the display of live fish in the window, Ristorante Alla Scala.

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We had a wonderful dinner with stuffed artichokes, shrimp cocktail with remoulade sauce, pasta with tomato and basil, and grilled whole (they bring you the whole fish beforehand for your approval) filet of orata, simple and fresh. Along with a half-bottle of Valpolicella, a half-liter of acqua frizzante, triamisu, and coffee, came to 73€. We wandered our way back to the hotel.