citylove: venice, italy

If there was one city that I’ve been to that speaks love to me, it would have to be Venice, Italy. Course, I can give you a whole list of cities that speak love in their own unique ways, but I think I’ll just stick to Venice for now. I can’t imagine another city so romantic. Course, I’m not just talking about the fancy gondola rides by moonlight, which are super popular along the grand canal, but I’m talking more about the city in its entirety.

Venice is such a quaint little city. Really, it’s very quiet and serene. Course, in the summers it can get a bit touristy, but as you wander away from the main sites and quickly find yourself lost in the labyrinth alleyways of the small city on the water, the noise significantly diminishes. You could end up being the only person on a street and in that way, you can easily become lost in the beauty of Venice. The city is so calming that I felt like I was indulging in my own personal love affair with it. I would sit by the canal and just meditate and write. Or stand on a bridge overlooking a site and snap a picture or two as you just take it all in, in awe.

I took a lot of pictures in Venice only because the city is so photogenic. I believe this is mainly due to all the buildings mismatching in size, texture and color. Being a city floating on water, there is no possible way to tear a building down and build it new from the foundation up. The only way to build, really, is to build up from  the roof. Since building materials have changed throughout the years, each building is two- or three-toned, which kind of gives the city an artsy feel to it. It’s like the whole city was painted with watercolors. It’s extraordinarily stunning.

I even fell in love with the food. Italian food is very comforting; pizza, pasta, bread, gelato. Everything is very filling and once you’ve indulged all you could, you get this amazing feeling of satisfaction. You never feel that nasty “full” feeling; more of “that was delicious. I am content” feeling. And not content in a boring, tedious sort of way. But comforting, so much so, you don’t ever want to leave. That’s a special sort of love, I think.