After throwing on my heels and pearls for a performance of the ballet “Raymonda” at La Scala Opera House Friday night, I packed a bag and jumped on a train to Venice Saturday morning to meet one of my best friends from home for the weekend. After 10 minutes, I knew Venice was going to be one of my favorite places in the world. In fact, I think it is my favorite place, possibly only to be preceded by Newport, RI. The funny thing is, Venice is not perfect, or as perfect as you might expect a city to be that lands on a person’s “favorite places” list. I actually think that it’s Venice’s imperfections that make it all the more charming. Everything, like much of the ancient European world, is mildly rustic and worn, kind of like your favorite pair of jeans that fit perfectly, so you wear them all the time. Even the 5 star resorts have chipped paint and faded awnings. And just when you think you’ve taken the perfect picture, complete with sparkling canal water, a charming bridge and a gondola, you review the picture in your camera only to find a clothes line in the background.
If I were to give Venice one word (a la “Eat, Pray, Love”), it would be enchanting. I was completely mesmerized by the whole atmosphere of Venice. Perhaps it’s my love for the water, or perhaps, as the daughter of an architect, it’s in my blood, but I felt as though I could have spent months in Venice and been perfectly content. I’ll admit, you could probably see all of Venice’s main attractions in one weekend, but I would have been happy to stay much longer, just admiring the buildings and leisurely drinking cappuccinos while watching tourists glide by on their astronomically expensive gondola rides.
With two full days in Venice, we spent our first day winding through the streets of Venice, poking our heads in and out of adorable little shops selling Murano glass items and Carnival masks, buying pizza or gelato whenever we got hungry. After exploring the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Church, we took the vaporetto (water taxi) back to our room for an early evening nap before dinner. After awaking, and realizing I had somehow come down with a fever, we bundled me up and headed down to a local part of town for dinner. It’s amazing what two pashminas, Tylenol and a little red wine will do for a sick body.
The next morning, we headed out to the Island of Lido where we had amazing cappuccinos and pastries for breakfast. You know in Italy, carbs don’t count before 11 a.m. We walked all around the island and spent some time walking on the sand dunes on the beach, collecting sea shells and admiring the view. After taking the water taxi back to mainland Venice, we got to revisit St. Mark’s Square, have a great lunch and some fabulous gelato on the Grand Canal before more shopping and one last round of cappuccinos and pastries before our departure.
Now, I’m typically a person that lives in the present. I can appreciate an experience in the moment, and then I can be glad that I had that experience and move on with fond memories, but Venice is the kind of place that I feel compelled to return to. I was completely wonderstruck by Venice; strolling along the little illuminated bridges at night, having ordinary conversations with extraordinary friends on full stomachs of tiramisu and red wine. I made the most wonderful memories that I’ll carry with me the rest of my life; the kind of memories you want to write down in your journal so that your grandkids will read them someday and be inspired to do the same.