Sunday, June 23, 2013

Cat Bauer's Insider Picks - FACES MAGAZINE, Switzerland - June issue

www.faces.ch
(Venice, Italy) FACES Magazin, a very cool "highly reputed Swiss lifestyle magazine based in Zurich" does a topic every month called "Short Trip," where they present a different city from an insider's point of view. The month of June features Venice -- or Venedig, since the magazine is in German -- and the Venice insider is Cat Bauer, a name that also happens to be German:)

They sent over pdf files of the cover and the article, but I cannot figure out how to import them into the blog, and I can't read it anyway because it's in German. But, of course, I didn't write in German, I wrote in English, which FACES translated. The piece is also up on their website, and they've got some really great images. Here's the first paragraph:

Venedig ist romantisch, aber nicht kitschig, geheimnisvoll und mysteriös, eine Stadt voller Geister der Vergangenheit, die einem an jeder Ecke Geheimnisse ins Ohr flüstern, sofern man denn auch hören mag. Zeit spielt hier keine Rolle, vom Wetter ganz zu schweigen – man ist hart im Nehmen, muss man wohl, in einer Stadt, die unaufhörlich sinkt. Hier genießt man das Leben, das Essen, die Kultur, schaut nicht nach vorn, sondern lebt den Moment. Cat Bauer wechselte vor 15 Jahren den Kontinent und zog aus den USA nach Italien. Von Venedig kam sie nicht mehr weg, deshalb verrät sie uns hier die Gründe fürs Kommen und Bleiben.

Palazzina G

And here is what I wrote in English:

FACES – Short Trip

Description:
FACES “Short Trip” is a one page topic in FACES Magazine. Each month we present a city for a Short Trip. A local recommends his favorite/coolest places of the city.
 
Questionnaire

1. Venice is ...
(2-3 phrases to characterize the city and what you like about it)

Venice is a city inhabited by ghosts of the past who still whisper secrets into the ears of those who know how to listen.

Venice is beautiful, magical and mysterious, an eternal temptress skilled in the art of seduction.

Venice is a town where the contemporary merges with the past, an ancient city that is young at heart.


2. What are the city’s best hotels?
 
Palazzina G - uber hip; designed by Philippe Starck; Johnny Depp stayed there when he was filming “The Tourist.”
Ramo Grassi,
Sestriere San Marco 3247,
30124 Venezia
Tel. +39 041 5284644
Fax. +39 041 2410575
Informazioni:
info@palazzinag.com
Prenotazioni:
reservations@palazzinag.com

Gritti Palace
Gritti Palace Hotel - just got a 34 million euro facelift; where Ernest Hemingway stayed
Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, 2467 · 30124 Venice, Italy
· Phone:
+39 041 794611
· Fax:
+39 041 5200942
· In Italy, call: +800-325-45454

Why Book with

Ostello Venezia - Venice Hostel - located on the Island of Giudecca, for the backpack crowd - Reopening in May after a fresh restoration
Fondamenta Zitelle 86
Isola della Giudecca
30133 Venezia
Italy
Tel. +39 342 5767349
Fax. +39 041 5235689
info@ostellovenezia.it

3. Which are your favorite restaurants? And what do you like to order?
(3-4 restaurants – can be different things, not only dinner – best breakfast, terrace, fast food, cafes, etc.)

A Beccafico
Campo Santo Stefano
San Marco 2801
+39 041 527 879
I love the fish at this restaurant. They always make me a dish of barely-cooked tuna with sesame seeds. I dine outside under the umbrellas in the square even if it’s raining.

TAVERNA DEL CAMPIELLO REMER | 
SESTIERE CANNAREGIO 5701 - 
VENEZIA (VE)
Go for the all-you-can-eat buffet from 5:30 to 7:30 and grab a spritz or a prosecco. Hang out in the little square in front of the restaurant with an awesome view of the Grand Canal. Also some excellent local music throughout the night.  I order whatever the fresh fish is.

L’ombra del Leone
Ca' Giustinian, San Marco 1364/A
30124 Venice

The cafeteria at La Biennale headquarters inside Ca’ Giustinian is a great place to grab a lunch or have an evening drink. There’s outdoor seating right on the Grand Canal. 

Bar Rialto da Lollo
 Bar Rialto da Lollo
San Polo 57
Venice
(under the Sottoportici degli Oresi at the Rialto Bridge)
Tel: 041 520 0106
The best panini (sandwiches) in Venice are at this little bar. I go for the codfish and artichoke panino.


4. Best fashion shops
(Boutique, shoe store, secondhand, anything fashion.)

My favorite jewelry shop; imports from the East and local artisans:
Gems of Venice
Ruga Rialto
San Polo 1044
Venice
Tel: 041 522 5148

Hip clothes and handbags. Bright, vivid and colorful:
Arnoldo & Battois
Calle dei Fuseri 4271
San Marco
+39 348 3122559
or
Arnoldo & Battois
Campo San Maurizio 2671
San Marco
+39 348 4123797

Cool clothes and jewelry:
Gualti
Dorsoduro, Rio Terà Canal 3111
Venice
+39 041 5201731

5. Best non fashion shops?
(Some special stores – art, living, design, deco, baby stuff, anything cool and special)

My favorite local wine shop:
El Vin Del Paron
San Polo 59
(under the Sottoportici degli Oresi at the Rialto Bridge)
Venice
No phone
No website
No Facebook

My favorite place to buy a gift for your pet:
Quacky
San Polo 826
Calle del Bo’
Venice
Tel: 041/5200889

My favorite designer eyeglasses; family owned and handmade:
Ottica Vascellari
Ruga Rialto 1030
S.Polo 30125 VENEZIA

6. Where are the best parties?

The best parties are inside private palaces. Try to score an invite during the Venice Biennale International Contemporary Art Festival, especially during the opening days. There are always great parties in all sorts of fascinating venues throughout the city. 

http://www.faces.ch/short-trip-venedig/

7. The ultimate Venice experience?
(A must do – something you can experience nowhere better)

There is no other place in the world where you can take a ride on a gondola, a sleek, silent ancient method of transportation. My favorite time to go is at sunset.

8. Which are the city’s best areas?
(for shopping, bars, day life, nightlife.)

There are a bunch of bars over at the foot of the Rialto Bridge on the San Polo side, and a huge open space where they converge in Campo San Giacometto, a nightly open-air party. My favorite bar is:

Muro Meeting Bar
Campo bella Vienna, Rialto
San Polo 222
+39 041 24 12 339

High fashion shopping on XXII Marzo. Day life is just wandering around and getting lost; buy “Secret Venice” by Thomas Jonglez and Paola Zoffoli and follow their instructions. At night, head over to Campo Santa Margherita where the university crowd hangs out.

9. What’s the latest Place to be“?
(What’s new and hip, the longest line outside, you can hardly get in?)

It might sound strange, but the longest line to get in is at Saint Mark’s Basilica, the main cathedral in Piazza San Marco. It’s always packed.

It depends on the band, but sometimes it’s hard to get into Paradiso Perduto:
Osteria “Il Paradiso Perduto”
Cannaregio, Fondamenta della Misericordia, 2540
30100 Venezia
e-mail: osteriaparadisoperduto@gmail.com
Per prenotazioni: tel. +39 041 720581


Your name: Cat Bauer
Your job: Writer
You love …. Creativity, imagination and harmony
You hate …. Lies, envy and jealousy


You’re originally from… the United States
Have been living in Venice since…1998

When you would move away someday, then to… Somewhere over the rainbow
What does Venice have that other cities don’t? Streets made of water



Ciao from Venezia,
Cat

1 comment:

  1. FACES Magazin, a very cool "highly reputed Swiss lifestyle magazine based in Zurich" does a topic every month called "Short Trip," where they present a different city from an insider's point of view. The month of June features Venice -- or Venedig, since the magazine is in German -- and the Venice insider is Cat Bauer, a name that also happens to be German:)

    ReplyDelete