"Remota itaque iustitia - qind suntregna nisi magna latrocinia?"

Without justice, what are governments other than large bands of thieves?

Aurelius Augustinus 354 - 430 Philosoph, Theolog & saint

"Remota itaque iustitia - qind suntregna nisi magna latrocinia?"

Without justice, what are governments other than large bands of thieves?

Aurelius Augustinus 354 - 430 Philosoph, Theolog & saint

Boris Michael von Luhovoy publishing editor

Palmtop-pro Magazin www.palmtop-pro.com

Its like a backstage trip to the future

Ready to have fun and sun at the Club Med Palmye in Turkey I prepare myself with the most important holiday survival tool.

The stovetop espresso maker Brikka from Bialetti .

Turkish coffee is nice if your a long time Fez- or Turban bearer - for the italian spoiled european espresso lover the Brikka is the next best thing to nothing - or the only stovetop espresso maker which can at least fake a true mocha.

The trick is the Bialetti uses a special pressure sensitive valve shooting the coffee with more pressure in the tank then usual stovetop expresso machines - that gives at least some "crema" (what is indeed separating the pinnacle from the rest of the pack) and a decent espresso taste. Provided one obeys the rule "quality goes in - quality (most of the times) comes out".

That said I make my way with the Brikka and some boxes of Illy grounded.

For the one on the go I recommend the Bialetti (going price under 40 USD) without hesitation.

After returning from Venice I fired up my 15 years (stll as good as on the first day) old Pavoni Europiccola Pro which is the undisputed godfather or ur-mother of all espresso machines ever produced in hard-core espresso geek circles.

A comparison between the small italian private roasters coffee and the also italian 800 pound gorilla in international coffee business Illy was for me, a long-term critic of all big corporations, indeed sobering.

Small and green may be beautiful elsewhere but the red metal-boxed Illy coffee still tastes a notch better then anything else on the market. Point.

Thought taste is always a discussable item - Illy has evidently more resources in securing worldwide uniform standard quality. Illy beats all competitors in quality since many years - Illy coffee may be more expensive then (some of) the rest but the higher price is indeed reflected in uniform quality. No matter where you buy a box - the quality is the same - the freshness is protected for about 3 years in Illys special sealed and pressurated metal boxes

This chap is roasting the finest coffee in venice - in a impeccable quality. One is stumbling in the shop over different breeds of Columbian coffee mixed in a secret recipe since 1930. When he is not reading the daily paper, what he appears to do all day, .

The small roasters place is filled all day with locals sipping their beloved "Ristretto".

English language here is (nearly) unknown here as Italian language is in Texas

Living in Venice means happy dwelling in a lifely and vibrant museum.

Pisa has not the monopole on side looking towers - Venice has one as well.

Venice has a un-numerable amount of large and tiny navigable water channels roamed by about 700 gondolas - but only one remaining gondola production, repair and service station. This hidden gem may be found at: Squero di san Trovaso Campo San Trovaso Dorosuro 30123 You reach it by taking Vaporetto No.1 and leave it at the station Zattere. The place your looking for is right behind the Vaporetto station. People there are welcoming (somehow if you insist) visitors there. The gondola construction site is running basically unchanged since the 17 century, using the same methods as by that times. The secrets of gondola making (the gondola is 10,5 m long, 1,4 m wide and on the right side 24 cm smaller then on the left) is handed from genereation to generation. The shop is unbelievable small - occupying no more than a average gas station in the US. It turns out no more then 3 gondolas a year. Every gondola consists of eight different kind of woods and is tightly fit like a handmade glove to the physical abilities of the very gondoliere for whom the the vessel was ordered. The six horizontal stripes on the metal head of every gondola ferro symbolize the six Sestrieri e.g. the parts the city of venice are divided in. The seventh strip on the vessels header is pointing backwards so symbolizing the very island lying before the main Venice island Guidecca. The round top symbolizes the round hats the 120 Dogen (head of the Patrizier who run the city well from 697 till 1997. Till the middle of the 16 century the gondolas where very colorful and excessive in add ons. The venetian senate stepped in to raise the elegance and decreed a law in 1562 that the gondolas may have any color - as long at it is black. Gondolas are the only private boats allowed. All other vessels, except for water taxis and transport ships are forbidden in Venice. Around 1420 Venice had 200.000 inhabitants and was counted due to their clever trading and production policy as by far the richest city in the world. Venice had by then the reputation of a worldwide respected leading cultural, militarily and economic superpower. Similar like the USA is today - except for Venice was also worldwide a respected and admired power.

Venice has about 70.000 local inhabitants which have sometimes a tough time to cope with about 17 to 20 Million tourists a year. Many of the intruders are backpackers on the cheap sleeping in the streets, gangways, railway-station floors or in any corner where the heavy Venice wine throws them. Venice will most probably set certain limits to its visitors next year. A tourist tax on tourist buses is already in place. So off the beaten tracks one is better off. Harrys still is. The global tourist industry is slowly taking its toll anyway also on gems like the Harries Bar Venice. Like in most places, the social standards are coming down. Elegant celebrities socializing on a refined level, if you will snob is, are getting endangered species and are steadfastly exchanged for waves of discussable outfitted and odd looking guests to whom dress codes are a totally obscure animal. They come from countries where they never heard of such a thing. Luckily off the beaten tracks this process is slow and probably reversible as Venice's are tough as well and not ready to give in easily to change / lower their living stile. Venezians where fighters in middle ages always defending their property, building their own armies and fitting complete war going flotillas for themselves and for other war mongering countries.

When Arrigio Cipriany founded 1931 the tiny 28 sqm. Harries Bar Venice on a (by then) small dead end street of the Calle Valareso, besides Sanct Marcus Square, sharing the front with the residence of the harbor general, he founded not a bar neither a restaurant. He founded a miracle.

The get together of artists, statesman, writer and celebrities of all kind. On the bar leaned William Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward, the Aga Khan, Arturo Toscanini, Humphrey Bogard, Winston Churchill, Elsa Maxwell, Charlie Chaplin, Truman Capote, Marcello Mastroianni and myny more. Ernest Hemingway wrote in the summer 1950 the novel "Across the River and Into the Trees" right on one of Ciprianis inventions, he famous three legged handcrafted wooden tables (they never gaggle on uneven ground).

Harries Bar is not a place to go but a instant home for many. There is a misconception what americans consider a bar (a waterhole, a place drink or get drunk) and how Europeans see a bar, as socializing and meeting friends - having a glass and good food.

Times may have changed but the Harries bar was and is still the worldwide finest bar and restaurant on this globe.

One may leave the Harry's Bar bankrupt - but never unhappy.

The piece of cake shown was 19 Euro only - including a small coffee...


Boris Michael von Luhovoy publishing editor

Palmtop-pro Magazin www.palmtop-pro.com

Its like a backstage trip to the future