Dazzled by #CityoftheMind by #PenelopeLively – the psychology of course also how she writes about urban spaces. I don’t think I ever read anything so insightful about cities. #Booksky 📚

A #coffee with a view at the end of yesterday’s hike up to the Refugio Menaggio above the Como Lake

Time for #pizza!

The view from the top #hiking

#OnlyInItaly When I reached the top of Monte Grona (1,700+ meters) I found a couple of Italians who’d hiked up with a #moka #coffee pot (& a tiny portable burner)

Meeting #goats was the highlight of today’s hike above the #ComoLake

My mom has been keeping an eye this couple of #swans on the #ComoLake for a few years and today we were delighted to meet this year’s brood! Dedicated to @six18sfoundry.bsky.social, Bluesky’s Hatching Monitor extraordinaire

Finally reading vol. 3 of the #CazaletChronicles – Confusion, by #ElizabethJaneHoward. If only the cover didn’t perpetuate the myth of the lovely, flowery lady novelist!!! Publishers should do better, amiright @jacquiwine.bsky.social… #Booksky 📚

Time for the first #icedcoffee of the year! #shakerato #coffee

The latest installation by artist #MelissaMcGill takes over the clotheslines on Corte Nova – her own version of the city’s acqua alta…? #Venice #art #contemporaryart

PSA - if you fantasize about a road trip through #Australia, read this first. @jasonnoiles.bsky.social warned you. #DouglasKennedy #TheDeadHeart #Booksy

Smitten with the haunting yet playful works of #LornaSimpson on display at the Punta della Dogana (Pinault Collection) in #Venice. #art #contemporaryart #Venezia

TFW an amazing friend gives you a book called Amaze Your Friends… @jasonnoiles.bsky.social #Booksky #PeterDoyle

The latest #sculling adventures south of #Venice… #RowingVenice

Anyone else experiencing on and off issues with Bluesky today?

I’m going to feel absolutely bereft when I finish vol 4 of A Dance to the Music of Time by #AnthonyPowell! @alisonjaye.bsky.social @neglectedbooks.com #ReadingVenice #Booksky

I had some #chestnut flour that needed to be used so I baked a #castagnaccio (traditional Tuscan chestnut #cake) with #rosemary

Somehow this #Dickens fan had never read #DavidCopperfield…

It’s #lilac season! #flowerwatch

Tove Jansson (Finnish, 1914–2001), Moomin and sisters Mymble and Little My paint an #Easter egg #womensart #Moomins

I *finally* bought a waterproof phone pouch, so you can now expect pics and videos of my #sculling adventures around the lagoon… #Venice #Venezia #rowingvenice

Apparently #JosephKosuth is a pioneer of #ConceptualArt but I can’t say I’m smitten with the works in this tribute exhibition at Casa dei Tre Oci in #Venice – the venue is spectacular though… #Venezia #art

Boat #dogs make for delightful Venetian scenes #Venice #Venezia

When you miss #LosAngeles, you can turn to #MichaelConnelly – he reliably details his characters’ itineraries when they drive anywhere, which I find oddly satisfying… I just finished The Overlook – not my favorite. #Booksky 📚

With a heavy heart, I wish Iranians friends a happy #Nowruz (new year)! Eid mubarak! I bought a potted #mint plant for a Persian friend, as I understand it’s traditional to eat fresh herbs today. Let’s all hope for #peace.

Who knew that #JohnleCarré had written a #whodunit? @rayburnmaarup.bsky.social and @maxcairnduff.bsky.social, that’s who. They recommended #AMurderofQuality and I’m delighted I listened… #Booksky 📚

There are worse places for a #concert celebrating #Petrarch and #Machaut #Venice #Venezia #ancientmusic

Great fun to be at a #VeneziaFC #football game in the historic Luigi Penzo stadium with @jasonnoiles.bsky.social – especially for the derby against Padova! #Venice #Venezia

Rereading Those Who Walk Away by #PatriciaHighsmith – a wonderfully twisted thriller set in #Venice. #ReadingVenice readingvenice.com/2026/03/17/t...

Oh the enchanting grace of the bronzes in the #Etruscan exhibition at the Ducal Palace in #Venice!

First signs of #spring

I’m dislike International Women’s Day, which strikes me as patronizing, but I wouldn’t mind taking a bite of these luscious #chocolate cakes from my local pasticceria… #March8

Recently @causticcovercritic.bsky.social deplored typos in a new #book but this is next level – the novel stops at page 712 and the final pages (713-724) are set in reverse order (ie 724, 723, 722 etc) requiring you to read backwards – for this & some typos, thank @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social

Reading vol 3 of #ADancetotheMusicofTime by #AnthonyPowell and watching episode 2 of the 1997 miniseries adapted from the books… Did you watch the series with your #anthonypowelltogether people, @alisonjaye.bsky.social?

I’m not a fan of #truecrime and disliked #InColdBlood, but @clairewords.bsky.social recommended #ThisHouseofGrief by #HelenGarner so I gave it a go and – what a book! So relentlessly questioning and insightful. Such precise, unfussy writing. I’m in awe. #Booksy 📚

Four years have passed since Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia was supposed to win in three days. Instead, Ukraine reinvented modern warfare, built a drone industry, and can destroy a thousand Russian soldiers in a day. Ukraine can win.

Here we go! Volume 2 of A Dance to the Music of Time by #AnthonyPowell… #Booksy 📚

In case anyone has doubts about what team I’m supporting in the men’s #curling final today… @jasonnoiles.bsky.social #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026 #winterolympics

On display at the Palazzo Diedo in #Venice, the #Muranoglass installation Omen by #UrsFischer evokes raindrops – I think – or maybe a meteor shower…? #art #contemporaryart

Meanwhile, on the vaporetto… #Venice #Venezia #carnival #carnevale

#TurtleDiary by #RussellHoban is going to haunt me. Such an insightful novel. Thanks for the recommendation, @grantmcgaheran.bsky.social! #Booksky 📚

Sunday #bubbleandsqueak – perfect winter food, so comforting. #vegetarian #vegan #plantbased #cabbage

A page-turner if I ever read one – Truth by the great #PeterTemple is another brilliant recommendation from @jasonnoiles.bsky.social #Booksky 📚

Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has been disqualified by the IOC from competing in the Olympics after wearing to practice a memorial helmet featuring images of Ukrainians killed by Russia in its war on Ukraine. Despite being unable to compete, he has become a hero in Ukraine.

I guess the #squirrel is Cortina d’Ampezzo’s spirit animal…? The adorable critter is everywhere. #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026

It’s a lovely day in Cortina d’Ampezzo… #Olympics #WinterOlympics #chocolate #snow #Olympics2026 #MilanCortina2026

Call it a competition and you can create extraordinary drama with just a broom and a slab of stone… #Olympics #WinterOlympics #curling #MilanCortina2026

Who knew a novel about artist in AIDS-devastated 1980s #NYC could be hilarious, wild and witty in addition to being poignant? @jasonnoiles.bsky.social that’s who. #PlaysWellWithOthers by #AllanGurganus is truly brilliant.

If you’re interested in the #history of #publictransportation, check out Alessandro Rizzardini’s book Dal remo al vapore, which focuses on #Venice and its famous vaporetti. #ReadingVenice #Venezia readingvenice.com/2026/02/01/d...