A Tale of Two Cities

Genoa and Venice have been jealous rivals since the early Renaissance, the desires of their citizens to distinguish themselves one from the other comparable perhaps to those held by Sydneysiders and Melburnians, or perhaps, more acutely, by residents of Albury and Wodonga. That is why it may not have been a great idea to order a cocktail – a Bellini – inextricably connected to one city – Venice – in the other – Genoa.

I wandered onto a terrace which just happened to contain tables and chairs and a drinks menu after an exhausting afternoon spent admiring wonders of Renaissance art and the palazzi which house them. It was definitely cocktail hour but I surprised even myself when I ordered a Bellini. The waiter stopped being charmed by my feeble attempts to speak his language and gave me a slightly disapproving, slightly chilly look. When my drink arrived, he plonked it on the table without even a perfunctory gesture towards flirtation, a very unusual occurrence. No sooner had he twirled on his heel away from me and towards someone with a little more respect, the slice of peach, yellow, I note, not white, adorning the drink tumbled onto the tabletop. Whilst my choice of drink might have been a faux pas, the drink itself, I am happy to report, was delightful and exactly comme il faut: sweet, cold, sharp, frothy.