Venezia, I Love You: A Letter
Dear Venezia,
My dear Venice, it has been but a few days that I have wandered along your canals, gaped wide-mouthed at your gilded sky-high ceilings, trekked across your well-loved cobblestones, and heard the sweet sound of raspy fishmongers yelling at sun-drenched Sunday market...yet, despite the short lapse of time, I must say: Venezia, I love you.
This warm sun-filled amorous feeling began the moment my feet touched down on a rocking vaporetto traveling the Grand Canal. I cannot express the overwhelming sensation of fulfilled childhood dreams in that moment: in my tiny little child's eye, I discovered images of my 4th grade history book, illustrating the Grand Canal. Time is indeed not a line but a circle. Throughout this trip, I have lived with feet in two different moments of time: that of my hopeful childhood self and that of my agape adult self. Both are deeply in love, filled with gratitude. The warmth of my love grew as I traipsed quiet streets with linen swinging in the breeze and crossed narrow bridges with the soft sound of lapping water filling my mind.
An adventure filled with this much love is only possible with some incredible people and, mama mia, do I have a surplus. Ten fellow gaping student artists, two incredibly generous and incredibly profound professional artists and the sweetest cinnamon roll of a child. They all fill me with hope for the world and thanks for this sliver of time. Venezia, you have a surplus. From the weird and wonderful bartender at your most ancient bar Ai Do Draghi to the rosy-cheeked bread maker of a nearby cozy Venetian side street, you are blessed with characters and comforters. Every moment is stolen from the pages of the loveliest book.
My tiny little mind cannot wrap itself around your beauty and quietude: from the shore of the Adriatic Sea to the ceilings of Ca'd'Oro: the "House of Gold" to the grandiose canvas oil paintings of Tintoretto to the humble pleasures of fresh morning strolls along the Grand Canal to the plethora of pooches pleasure-fully wandering the market behind kind Italian owners, I am deeply in love. You will be imprinted in my mind forever as an unfathomable blessing, a magnificent mystery of deep blue and shimmering gold and sun-kissed sky...
Ciao, mio amore.