Venice Photo-log, Veneto, Italy

Today we went to Venice. Now when we close our eyes we see Venice. We see all its glory and magic dance for us, pushing and chiseling the experience deeper into our memories. We see the dark emerald green water lapping quietly in the canal, the first thing we saw and the the most unforgettable; green like you find in the deepest parts of the ocean. 

The lagoon water playing with the moored up old wooden boats and new gondolas, decorated with black and red velvet slowly moving through the currents, drifting under the well trodden stone bridges. We see large Italian flags, fastened to golden poles, barely moving in the summer heat and wet washing hanging out to dry between houses, that seemingly rise out of the water. 

We see the other tourists moving like fish in front of us, swimming along the footpaths. Some in large groups, others meandering off to the sides, taking photos by the hundreds. We see them lining up to buy Italian ice cream or mindfully swallowing up a tiny cup of morning espresso with a creamy looking pistachio cannoli. We see them together sitting, red-faced and puffing, perched on the steps of the old Piazza San Marco (St. Marc's Square) seeking a moment of shade or waiting to board one of hundreds of water buses. 










































We see the old Venetian shops selling the most beautiful and elaborate hand painted face masks, some adorned with jewels, lace or feathers, available in all colours and shapes. Outside on the wide streets around the piazza, copy-cat vendors offer smaller colourful varieties as well as a range of themed merchandise. We see the dark and narrow lanes that offered us the smallest respite from the fierce sun, little puddles of water forming on the ground by the over active air conditioners. 

We see the towering turquoise domes of the (basilicas) from where we stood on the bridges, overlooking the orange terracotta roofs. We see everything and figuratively we see nothing that isn't more amazing than the next thing. With or without a map Venice is a patchwork labyrinth, being held together at the seams by ancient bridges. Sometimes we found ourselves circling around like snakes and returning to where we started and several other times caught down a one way path, like a mouse focused on its cheese, where it ended suddenly into the deep canal. Throughout our day we walked and we walked and then we walked and walked further. We walked up and then down over bridges we walked around sharp and wide and curving corners and walked through cobbled plazas, we walked through laneways, archways, alleys and walked through gorgeous terraces where locals and tourists dined on lunch. 

What we will remember most of all was the heat, never had we ever sweated so much. Never had we ever wanted to keep walking, to keep powering on. Never had our legs just kept moving, just moving, just venturing on through the heat. Venice was everything we expected but different, more colour, perhaps more secrets and more everything. More, larger, eccentric, calmer, louder, silent'er and more wonderful than we expected. 

The magic of Venice will always stay with us.

Tot siens,

John and Kara