Venetian Glass

If Rome shouts, Venice whispers.

At least when it isn't high tourist season.

I had the great pleasure of visiting Venice with a friend from college. It's really wonderful to take a few days and spend some time with a familiar and friendly face. It's exactly what I needed, I think, to recharge myself for the next few months.

We wandered through Venice, picking through tiny side streets, over and over tiny bridge after tiny bridge, bracing ourselves against the strong breeze which flies off the water, and taking deep breaths and photographs in the breaks of sunlight.

There is a Titian exhibit at the Academia, and because both Allison and I are Art-History nerds (although I think she's a bit worse than I am...) we gobbled it up. "Love Love Love" was all she could say as we walked out of the building, and I couldn't agree more. Art like that is truly a gift, and I was happy we got to experience it.

While in the gallery, I received a phone call from a teacher at my boarding school who was leading a group of students and faculty through Italy. I knew they would be in Venice that day, and had left him a message earlier that morning, posing the possibility of a meetup. And meet we did. There was a happy charm to meeting up with Doc that day; the man who took me on my first overseas adventure when I was a 6th former at The Hill. It was the trip that prodded my travel bug to life. It was great to see him, years later while I'm on my own excursion around the world. In a way, I owe much of my curiosity and bravery to him and that first trip.

It was a day filled with adventure, singing gondolieri, hole in the wall pizza joints, familiar faces, twisting canals and a piazza I've dreamt of seeing since I was a little girl of 8 years, learning to play Vivaldi on the violin.