Product Description

When Fernando spots her in a Venice cafe and knows immediately that she is The One, Marlena de Blasi is caught off guard. A divorced American woman travelling through Italy, she thought she was satisfied with her life. Yet within a few months, she quits her job as a chef, sells her house, kisses her two grown-up kids goodbye, and moves to Venice. Once there, she finds herself sitting in sugar-scented pasticcerie, strolling through sixteenth-century palazzi, renovating an apartment overlooking the seductive Adriatic Sea, and preparing to wed a virtual stranger in an ancient stone church. As this transplanted American learns the hard way about the peculiarities of Venetian culture, we are treated to an honest, often comic view of how two middle-aged people, both set in their ways but also set on being together, build a life. A THOUSAND DAYS IN VENICE is filled with the foods and flavours of Italy and peppered with recipes and culinary observations. But the main course here is about a woman who falls in love with both a man and a city, and finally finds the home she didn't know she was missing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72978 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'An irresistible grown-up love story' USA TODAY; 'Enchanting' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY; 'Venice is almost synonymous with romance, and in this charming account de Blasi spares no detail in telling us how she fell under its spell' LIBRARY JOURNAL 'A luxurious story of sudden love' KIRKUS REVIEWS

The Evening Herald (Ireland)
'..you will love this book. It's earthy, beautiful, emotional and a true story.'

Prima
'If you're feeling starved of romance, you'll devour A Thousand Days In Venice by Marlena de Blasi'

Customer Reviews

An enchanting love story
Like others I initially bought this book because I love Venice. It had an added piquancy for me as a middle-aged woman who loves food, and who unexpectedly fell in love with a stranger.

There is a faint whiff of American cheesiness in it very occasionally, but in the main it is a voluptuous and almost poetic account of a new beginning, an odd romance and immersion in the most glorious city in the world. It made me wiggle my toes with pleasure and make myself slow down so I didn't read it too quickly. The account of their wedding is so glorious that I unashamedly sat on a London bus with tears in my eyes while I read it.

Can't recommend it highly enough, and not just to sentimental women.

Romance and Recipes
An enchanting and delightful story of romance and recipes. In her biography, Marlena de Blasi tells how she leaves her job in Santa Lucia, America, sells her house and most of her possessions to go and live in Venice with Fernando, a Venetian she has only known a few weeks.

De Blasi is passionate about food, choosing and buying the perfect ingredients, cooking them and eating, preferably with friends, but often on her own or with Fernando in the many cafes and restaurants of Venice.

She seem to capture the essence of Venice in a story packed full of seductive descriptions of the people she meets and of her wanderings around the canals, piazzas and churches of Venice, while searching out the best ingredients in the markets, the perfect fabrics with which to decorate their apartment and a dressmaker with the vision to sew her the wedding dress she desires.

De Blasi captures the Venetian pace of life and the essence of mystical allure of Venice herself. The recipes along the way only add to the enchantment.

A truly wonderful book
This book written by an American woman tells the story of her meeting the love of her life in Venice. She captures the very essence of the city in her descriptions and brings it all to the reader in her unique way.

The events leading to the meeting with Fernando, a lonely Venetian living in a shabby apartment, fill the reader with anticipation as to how and when they will speak for the first time. Her feelings and emotions, her hesitation, and the falling in love with a stranger in the world's most romantic city is the stuff of dreams.

The descriptions of the food they eat are utterly mouthwatering, not surprising really as the author is a chef, food critic and journalist. There are some recipes included to capture the taste of their meals together. A real treat.
This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. Intelligent, literary writing. I just wish I had the words to write a better review!

Highly recommended to all lovers of Venice, Italy, and romance in the middle years.