Saturday 18 May 2013



Act 2, Scene 4

The narrative began with Act 1, scene 1 on April 10, 2013.
To access all scenes, scroll to blog archive at the bottom of the page.


Aitken
Everything looks so amazing.

Holland
David, will you explain about my allergy?

Newkirk
Sure, of course. (Speaks to the others ...) Valerie has a serious allergy to shellfish, so she has to be really careful, especially here in Venice. (and with a rueful grin) And I have recently confirmed problems with gluten and dairy. We have to explain these things at every restaurant.

Velazquez
Oh ... what a shame!

Newkirk
Yeah, I know. The good news is that Italy is actually the best place in the world if you have a gluten sensitivity. I know ... surprising with all the breads and pasta; but they have had such trouble here that apparently they test all the children before age 5. Virtually all the restaurants have gluten free dishes, and everyone is very understanding about it.

The owner returns to ask what each of the diners has selected from the menu, making a mental note of the orders. 

Newkirk (takes a moment to explain the important food sensitivities)
La signora e mi hanno alcune allergie alimentari. La signora è estremamente allergica ai crostacei. Gamberi, cozze, capesante, vongole, aragoste eccetera. Tutti frutti di mare. Ma i pesci come il salmone, branzino eccetera, questi non sono un problema. Pentole e padelle e utensili da cucina non possono toccare nulla sul suo piatto. Sarà gravemente malata se mangia il più piccolo pezzo di crostacei. E io ho problemi sia con glutine e latticini.

Owner
Molte persone hanno questi problemi, signore. Saremo molto attenti, mi creda.

Newkirk
Grazie mille.
Some dishes served at Enoteca ai Artisti


tripadvisor.co.uk


Aitken
Wow, David. I'm impressed; pretty good Italian.

Newkirk
Thanks, Jen. I've been trying to add to my vocabulary for a few years now. And, I have to confess that Google translate is a huge help. Over the last few months I've just been trying to prepare "purpose-built" phrases and questions, and little explanations like this one about allergies. I don't want you to imagine for a minute that I've become fluent.

Aitken
Still ... it's great that you've learned what you have.