Around 2003, I’d joined an on-line travel website, where you could post photos & tips, write about your travel experiences, ask questions of fellow travelers and even meet up with several travelers. Truth be told, I haven’t logged onto that website in a very long time, but I did manage to make several friends on there, many of whom I met in person. At the end of this month, that travel website will shut down. I, however, wanted to save some of my writing from that travel website, thus recreating here on my blog.
Here’s what I wrote about Venice, Italy:
“I scarely wake in the morning but I thank God that he has let me spend my days in Venice; and sometimes of an evening, when I go to the Piazzetta, I am afraid to shut my eyes, lest when I open them I should find it had all been a dream.”
(Rawdon Brown)
Che hai sognato stanotte?
Venice
“Venice is a dream of soft waters.”
(Carl Sandburg)
Venice is…
the sound of footsteps echoing on its bridges, sleek black gondolas gliding silently through the canals, hundreds of pigeons swirling through San Marco, hidden campos, Murano glass jewelry in lustrous hues, a waking dream.
Since Venice was the first Italian city that I ever set foot in, returning there always feels like “coming home.” Arriving by boat, especially at sunset, is something you’ll never forget. The initial sight of the Campanile and the Winged Lion seemingly arising out of the sea makes my heart jump in my throat. Yet leaving Venice by boat is the most exquisite torture; to wait of your own volition for the boat that will transport you away from all this magnificence. As Venice fades into the distance and you strain ever harder for that final glimpse to etch in your memory, your heart will break.