My Happy Place

I mentioned in a post recently that one day soon I wanted to write about my love affair with Italy. Today’s the day. Actually it might take me more than one post but I'll spread them out so I don't sound like a travel brochure. I’ve made five trips to Italy in the past six years, different cities, each one molto bella. And I'm pretty sure I could write a whole post on the two or three or twenty pieces of Italian pottery I might now own.



In my house Italy is affectionately referred to as ‘my happy place’. I love everything about it… the scenery, the food, the wine, the history, the art and the people…especially the people. They love their visitors, they want you to love their country, and while I speak only about 20 words of Italian, communication is rarely a problem. There might be a whole lot of pantomime happening at times but it’s lighthearted and friendly. Life moves at a different pace there and as one Italian friend said to us, ' Why would I feel stress..look at where I live.’ Oh, and did I mention the food?


One of the biggest benefits to living overseas for a period of time has been the opportunity for travel. We have taken full advantage of that opportunity and have been to many cities in many countries. But honestly, I think there is something in the Italian air that makes me want to go back again and again.


I've decided to make this first 'trip' post about Venice because on this date, one year ago today, my husband and I were in that most amazing city. Venezia. It was a wonderful 5 days and we did a lot of the typical touristy things. Venice draws a huge tourist crowd so I’m not sure if I’d like it as much in the hot, crowded summer months (lots of Europe is without air conditioning), but this was March and it was lovely and not overly crowded. We stayed in a hotel right on St. Mark’s Square which was convenient for lots of the most popular sites and for hopping on and off the water taxis we used to explore other areas. It doesn’t take long to get used to the idea of ‘no roads’. Everything happens by boat and the water taxis run like buses would in any other city.

We spent a lot of time in St. Mark’s Square, visiting the magnificent church, feeding the pigeons, and sipping Prossecco on the piazza.

We crossed a lot of bridges.

We rode in a lot of boats that meandered thru countless narrow canals (streets). And as we floated along we wondered about that very first person who said, ‘Hey let’s drop a piling down a few hundred feet and build magnificent buildings where there isn’t any dry land.’

We saw art and architecture and a little bit of everyday life in a city with water for roads

We brought home a beautiful souvenir from our day trip to the island of Murano where hand blown glass is made.

We saw some spectacular views.

We dined waterside


We hated for the week to end.

Like I said...my happy place.