Campiti's

Don Campiti's on Potomac Avenue in Dormont. A Pittsburgh tradition. No air-conditioning, all cash, no delivery and the best pepperoni pizza in the United States. I have fond memories of driving with my mother to pick up pizza there as a kid and riding back feeling the burning heat of the pizza as it rested on my lap. Still a regular stop for my family.

Campiti's mural

This is the mural in Campiti's Seph mentions. Fascinated me since I was a kid. Note the full moon above the Rialto bridge. : )

Nine West in the Pittsburgh Airport

Where it all began--the story and the inspiration for the story.

My first view of Venice

Taken from the ad hoc water taxi we had to hire as the vaporetti were on strike. You can see the famous lion, the symbol of Venice, atop the column. Tom and Seph sit at the base during one of their talks.

Piazzo San Marco

My son and I and about a gazillion pigeons in the Piazza San Marco. As I was digging through our Venice pictures, I realized we already had a picture of the Museo Correr (the building with the Jackson Pollock sign behind us.) Despite having once stood in front of it, I didn't even know the Museo Correr existed until I reached the point in Tumbling Through Time when I needed Seph and Tom to talk with a maritime historian. I googled "Venice maritime history" only to discover there was a museum renown for maritime history among other things right in St. Mark's Square. Not that I had noticed while we were there, of course. Life works like that sometimes when you're writing.

Campanile

The campanile, or bell tower. Another famous sight in Venice. Seph is launched back in time from the observation room at the top.

This is what Tom and Seph see from the top of the campanile