“We all need something to look forward to.”
That is my Mom talking. She says it often and she is right. We do, we bumbling, beautiful humans; we do.
And so now, and for the foreseeable future (if such a thing truly exists), I will be counting down the days until I can return to Venice.
For this magical city truly stole my heart.
I would move to La Serenissima if I could, return tonight if possible. And yes, I cried when I left.
How did I even get there?
Any of you who have been reading for even the smallest amount of time can sumrise that I don’t have the means and you would be right. But with true friendship, so much becomes possible.
And that includes wishing on this watery star after a year (and counting, for the hard work is still in progress, all uncertain) of pulling hand over wrist to keep my head above the line. Of not looking past this one day, let alone towards a city that spins eternal, whether or not that might be the case in the…foreseeable future.
To feel pure joy.
It feels like breathing beauty to have a dream again.
Oh, how I am hopefully grateful.
Grazie Venezia, grazie mia cara amica.
I was waiting for this, for seeing Venice again. It's a city I adore. Away from the crowds, along the silent canals of Dorsoduro and San Polo, I could almost imagine myself in a place suspended in time. I loved it, maybe even more than my beloved Rome.
I still remember and dream about my stay in Venice for a week during September 1982!
I hope with all my heart for you to go there and I am waiting for your lovely pictures. I am sure you'll catch the spirit of the city differently now!
P.S. Look again the films "Death in Venice and "Don't look now"!
Having something to look forward to is what propels me some days. Maybe hope is just another way of saying the same thing. The images are fabulous. It really does not seem to matter what the weather is like. Venice just is.
Ali
Such beautiful images…I can understand why you loved it so much.
Your Mother is right about needing something to look forward to…
You always manage capture me with your words and images heather. Our planned trip to Venice was cancelled when my husband became ill in Switzerland a few years ago – we have yet to discover this enchanting, town of living history. Bisons
"Faith, hope and love", It's all there, Heather. Your friends give such good advice too.
This was such a beautiful gesture. Certainly your friends reveled in seeing your reaction–isn't that why one does such things? A place like Venice–so intimate, so exotic yet so familiar–especially without the hordes of summer, is such a perfect place to get perspective. But some places, like some brilliant people, are best appreciated in small portions and would be insupportable on a 24/7 basis. Savor the time you had time there, which was free of the quotidien hassles of residents, and go back often, if you can, to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Everywhere is wonderful yet no place is perfect, which is why it's good to keep moving around.
And how your joy comes through in these photographs!
Beautiful pictures! I love Venice as well and have been lucky enough to stay there twice. Once in my younger years, once as an older married women – 2 different experiences, both fabulous. I would move there in an instant! You have captured her lovely features and without throngs of people! Belissimo!
So beautiful!