Wow.
Venice.
Beautiful, lovely, romantic.
It takes your breath away the minute you walk out of the train station to the Grande Canal.
The canal waters sparkle in the sun like a thousand diamonds awaiting to be discovered. The small city made up of many different islands calls to you, it possesses you, it fills every inch of your body with a sense of longing. The cool breezes blow throught your hair, giving you a sense of freedom and belonging. You can smell a thousand years of culture, you can taste the sea, you can hear every heart beating in unison..... Ahhhh, Venice.
It is so much different than anything I've ever seen. It is more magnificent than anyone could have ever explained. It almost reminds me of some mythical, magical world that George Lucas would create for a new Star Wars scene. Massive domes elegantly cluttered together with the glistening canal waters sprinkling light on their weathered walls. Af first glance it looks like tinker bell faries flying about. EVERTHING is interesting in Venice... the bridges, old and new, the pigeons, the array of shops selling hand blown glass goods and home made Venetian masks, the food stalls, the narrow little streets that feel like a time warp taking you back to the 14th century (the height of Venice), the churches and basilicas, the caffe bars, the street muscians, even the obvious foreigners selling knock off Prada and Gucci hand bags. And THEN there's the architecture. Similar in style to ever other European country and to places like New Orleans, but so amazingly different, I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it is the dirt and soot from the canal waters that coat the edges, or the canals themselves, which hide the foundation and gives the impression that everything is floating. I don't know. All I can say is that there is no place on earth like Venice and it is now up in my ranks as one of the most breathtaking cities in the world.