lizok's Qype profile

Great place to stop for a morning cappuccino, or some delicious gelato.

Oooh, this is a GEM!

Last time I was in Venice, I was lucky enough to live just across the bridge from this A-MAZING Enoteca!! It was WONDERFUL!!! Definitely come here in the early evening, after a long day of walking the streets, or the biennale, or laying on the beaches in Lido... I was there with three girls and co-architects - our days consisted of brief biennale visits, followed by long days of tanning, relaxing and drinking Spritz.. Needless to say, by the end of the day we were exhausted, and after a quick shower we came to Enoteca Schiavi to restore ourselves.

The owner speaks only Italian, but that has never been a problem for us - he is a lovely older man, who smiles at everyone and has an uncanny sense of what wine works for the day, weather and general mood. We managed to say a few key words in Italian and after trying a couple wines we always found just what we needed. Since we came in several times every day [yes, living just over the bridge was GREAT], we got quite proficient with the wine charades. :) Although, if miming wine descriptions is not your strength, there are also stern young men who also work here who can speak English.

Get a bottle or two to take with you, and then enjoy a couple glasses of wine and some light snacks outside on the embankment.

Being at Tosca, especially sitting by the bar late at night feels like being in a Edward Hopper painting...
The interior is dark and leathery, the ceilings high, the bartender carefully attentive, and yet the air seems to be still. You are frozen in a moment in time, among the empty Pernod bottles and old leather bar stools.
I found this to be a very sad, but very poetic space. No wonder the beatniks loved it.

Oh…. I don’t like zoos… The animals look sad and shabby - like people do on a morning after a party when they didn’t get a chance to go home, but just crashed on a couch in some degenerate loft - they look ALRIGHT, but massively worn and unfresh.

The only zoo where I’ve seen HAPPY animals is San Diego Zoo [I know for a FACT that they were happy, b/c MOST of the cages had babies, and only HAPPY animals reproduce in captivity in such numbers]... The “cages” there are huge spaces, with pretty convincing landscapes and trees and hiding spots - most of the animals have large places where they can hide from the people if they get tired of being watched.
Now, this is NOTHING like Moscow Zoo. Moscow Zoo is small and cramped, and I feel especially sorry for the primates, the elephants, and the large cats - they all REALLY need more space.
I realize that the IS NO MORE SPACE in the center of Moscow, and the Zoo TRIES to be adequate.. but it’s FAILING.

I can’t come here - it makes me depressed for weeks!

Three stars for a childhood incident - mum and dad brought me to the zoo when I was about three. Dad had me on his shoulders and they took me from cage to cage and showed me all the animals. The dialogue went like this:
-Lizochka, look, that’s a QUAIL!
-Can you eat it?
-Look right there, that’s a PEACOCK!
-Can you eat it?
-No, now look here, that’s an OSTRICH!
-Can you eat it?

I wasn’t a malnourished, starving child… I was simply very curious.

This may not be a completely bad cafe, but I can’t help feeling that this is just SUCH a foreign tourist-attraction, that is entirely out of place here.

I love this place! It’s perfect for a late lunch! I guess my late lunch is what most people would call dinner, but whatever… that’s entirely besides the point.

Really good food [some happy medium between cafe food and restaurant food], excellent antipasti, awesome staff, pretty good wine recommendations… and… since I am a filthy human being, and YES, I smoke - I can have my cancer sticks at one of the far outside tables!

Also, the music volume is PERFECT - it dims most of the street noise, but you can still talk comfortably… and the music selections are somehow ALWAYS ideal for the current mood and weather!

Beautifully minimalistic store/gallery with an impeccable collection of the best design and architecture books, and the newest and hippest loungy chill CDs. The art in the gallery is like the books- sparse and thoughtfully chosen.

ModernBook was best described by one of my good friends:
It’s not about having the MOST books, it’s about having the RIGHT books!