In my happy place.

We arrived in Venice shortly after midday.  We were greated by a representative of Lux-Rest Venice at the ticket office in Piazzale Roma and were welcomed to our apartment in San Croce.  I nearly fell over when I saw it.  For months I've had a photo of the canal on my wall at work (thanks Google!).  And finally I was staring at the real thing.  I had to pinch myself.  Even more so because I've joked for months our apartment was the red building in the photo.  How true that was!  I couldn't believe it! 



After going through all the formalities with the apartment, we headed off in search of somewhere to eat.  We weaved through the back alleys and came across a small place called Trattoria Taverna Capitan Uncino.  Most of the tables were occupied by local workmen and it didn't take long to realise we heard no accents other than Italian -- which was great!  A local joint!! The menus were extensive and it took a while to decide what to order.   In the end I went for a tagliolini with mushrooms and truffle.  It wasn't at all bad - a little expensive at E18.00 but that was okay.  A bottle of aqua frizzante and an espresso later we were off again to explore the local area. 

In the next hour I took about 100 photos!  San Croce is an area of Venice we haven't explored previously.  To my absolute delight the rain stopped and blue sky appeared.  Again, I couldn't believe it.  (I have a running joke about the weather in Venice - afterall it took me three trips here before I experienced a sunny day.  And the forecast was supposed to be rain, rain, rain, rain for the next week or so.  A little bit of blue sky made my day!)  So I snapped away.  I absolutely love the canal we are on. 

There's magic around every corner.  I really don't think you can take a bad photo in Venice.  There's so much beauty and interest.  Whether it's in the water, the bridges, the boats or the decaying old buildings and magnificent churches.  There's colour everywhere.  And gorgeous reflections.  Light and dark.  Movement and silence.

At the end of the day however I feel like I'm home.  Actually I know it.  The headache I've had for the past two days has stopped.  It stopped when we arrived.  Afterall I'm now in my happy place.  And have 30 days to enjoy it.

The love affair with Venice

My partner and I have a love affair with Venice. For me, it is a love that has blossomed over time. I remember my first trip to Venice in 1989 as a 21 year old backpacker. I started in Egypt and worked my way across to Europe and to the United Kingdom. We had rushed to get to Italy after staying on Santorini in the Greek Islands. Boat, train, boat, train. Non-stop until we reached Rome and went to the Vatican for Easter Sunday with half a million others. Neither of us were of the Catholic faith but it was an amazing experience to see the Pope. And it was also a heartbreaking experience when we both realised we had been robbed getting there. Somewhere enroute to Rome and St Peters we had our cameras and Walkmans (yes that's a sign of the times, isn't it) stolen. I grabbed a cheap camera somewhere in Rome so we could continue recording our travels throughout Italy. But somehow we never got quite over the robbery. We said the right things (it's happened, accept it and move on) but in our hearts we were really disappointed by the experience. We traipsed through the countryside for two weeks and made our way to Venice. Ah Venice....

I still remember the day we stood on the Accademia Bridge on the Grand Canal looking across to Salute. That first time. It was a sight like no other. I remember the first time I stepped into St Marks Basilica and saw those beautiful, golden Byzantine mosaics. It was awesome. It was inspiring. It was magical. But unfortunately Venice was too expensive for a backpacker who was attempting to live off $40 a day. And at that stage in my life I was still learning about history, about art, about culture. I walked into the Accademia and rushed around, absolutely bored by the medieval works. If I saw another painting of Jesus and Mary, or St Sebastian, I was going to scream. But that changed over time.

Twenty one years later I'm planning my fourth visit to Venice. This time for a month. I'll still stand on the Accademia Bridge like I do every visit and gawk at the view. I'll go across the Rialto Bridge more times than I can count. I'll cross St Marks square time and time again. I'll go in and out of churches and galleries, having no problem whatsoever with the medieval artworks. I'll cross canals and take a million photos. But this time I'll absorb it.

In the 21 years since the first visit I've read countless books on Venice and Venetian history. I'll soak up the Italian culture and the wonderful food, wine and coffee we will no doubt encounter along the way. It will be a different trip to all the others though. This trip will be in memory of my mother who passed away in April. It will also be a healing trip. And we will work out a way to take something of hers with us. She always wanted to return to Europe...

And I'll blog about it here.