A Birthday in Venice

I woke up this morning to find that Bill had painted a birthday card for me.

 Love it! And look at that lion! Now when did he find the time to paint this?

 What a great card. What a way to start a day!

We had noon reservations at our new favourite restaurant -- the Enoteca Rio San Marin. It was raining in Venice but soon we were settled in to the cozy place.

The staff were kept busy as the restaurant filled up. The Enoteca is so popular that every table had been reserved.

When Alessandra brought our menus I opened mine to find a birthday card inside, signed by all the staff. What a lovely gesture! Shows you what a special place this is.

We ordered the house risotto and as it is made to order, started with green salads and a litre of wine.

I watched the street traffic through the window. Everything in Venice arrives on a hand-drawn cart and must be delivered rain or shine.

Alessandra brought us the seafood risotto -- the aroma was amazing as she put down the plates. Full of little shrimps and diced seafood, it was divine.

When we finished and had ordered dessert, the lights went out. Power failure? Bill drew my attention to the back of the restaurant. Alessandra was bringing out a plate of tiramisu with a single candle. She sang "Happy Birthday to you..." and the staff and all of the customers joined in. How embarassing!

 I made a birthday wish and blew out the candle on my tiramasu to general applause.

 What a place!

I dug in to my cake while admiring Bill's dessert -- a specialty of the house -- grappa gelato. 

 Birthdays don't get much better than this.

And partners don't get much better than William Kimber. Thank you, Sweetheart!

Bill and I went to the kitchen to offer our compliments to the chef for his risotto. Turns out it was his birthday today too.

As we drank our coffee I reflected on my many blessings. Lucky me!