Drink & Think Venice: The Story of Venice in Twenty-Six Bars and Cafés or A Counterblast Against Too Sober an Inspection of Monuments is a new book, published by Blue Guides.
I took it on a walk around Venice, in the style of the great J G Links. His Venice for Pleasure (1966) was written in much the same spirit. He refused to take sightseeing too seriously – habitually opting for coffee instead of more Canova, tea instead of yet another Tiepolo – yet he somehow imparted a wealth of erudition, knowledge and good advice.
San Marco to Santo Stefano
Before setting out on our walk, let’s visit Harry’s Bar.
This mighty establishment suffers from its own celebrity, because there is a type of international tourist who seems to imagine the chief reason to go there is reason to visit Venice can never be to sit down to a meal: the city is not for epicures.
