Gritti Palace, Venice Italia 10 December 1959

Dear PG – Aunt Charmian forwarded your letter to me here in Venice (Italy, not the beach). I arrived by the Laguna Express a fortnight ago. October is the best month in Venice. The German tourists have left, so you have the place almost to myself. Spent the evening at Harry’s Bar, then a delicious afternoon at the Bagni Alberoni, where Lord Byron (he’s a poet, Pussy) used to ride. Horses. My companion was a blonde from Vienna. What the French call a “ poule deluxe i.e a high-class whore. She called me a

“ gentleman pig “, which I thought would amuse you. ... The rest of this epistle can be found on Kindle sans the graphix!