Venice was in the news recently for the woman Gondolier from Germany who has been granted licence into a hitherto male domain.

After visiting the magnificent St Mark’s square, viewing an ad shoot with a woman running in a gorgeous scarlet gown among the pigeons, the imposing church and the captivating Murano factory of coloured glass works, we took the mandatory ride in the Gondolas- the special black coloured boats where singers serenade you as you navigate the canals.

We had an aging male Gondolier straight out of the movies. He sang as we went along but did not look very chirpy or even happy. However the gondolier next to ours was groovy and for once I wished we had been behind in the queue.

Do you know why the gondolas are painted black? They were expected to remain inconspicuous at night, as gentleman of the city carried on their affairs in them with others’ wives!

And here is another thing about Venice- you need not have perfect furniture. The city, mostly built on the logs of black forest, is constantly sinking. Houses constantly develop unpredictable ups and downs on their floors.

So this could be a good destination for the neighbourhood carpenter who ruined your new sofa!