Fall in Love in Venice

I dare not shut my eyes. I simply cannot. Everywhere I look is just so overwhelmingly beautiful that a simple blink has me thinking I will miss something. The city is so gorgeous and oddly it's the very mundane sights that take your breath away.

Don’t get me wrong there is nothing, and I mean nothing, mundane about Venice. It’s just that, well, in Venice these sights are everywhere. So walking around seeing a gondola is both gorgeous and for Venice, well, mundane.

For my recent visit (4th time) I feel I fell back in love. The kind of love that has you smiling giddily and saying 'ciao' to complete strangers. Venice allure is so overwhelming that you can go around 24/7 and it never stops. The city is that beautiful at every hour of the day. Every shadow on the canal has you daydreaming. Among all the canals you feel such peace like you are floating.

La Biennale de Venezia is what took me there this time. As a newly discovered passion painting these last few years has shown me that I should dream big. Never in a million years I would have even thought of putting “exhibit in la Biennale” on my bucket list. Yet, Palazzo Bembo next to Puente Rialto is currently showing one of my art pieces, Menina Waldo. She’s so appropriately set against this red and white striped background that is so fitting with Venice gondolas posts.

The highlight of La Biennale was found at the far end of Arsenal North. Building Bridges a magnificent sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn under the representation of Halcyon Gallery is so inspiring that I had to trek 45 minutes twice, because I simply could not depart without seeing it again. Each pair of intertwined hands stands for another value. Wisdom, Love, Hope, Help, Faith and Friendship are symbolized and forever etched in my heart.

Bridge of sighs, take me back to a time when Vivaldi was furiously writing in a convent and every prisoner took one last look back, definitely not mundane, simply breathtaking.

Please note the hoards of people around Plaza de San Marco makes Times Square seem like a zen place. But strolling from San Marco to Puente Rialto are some palaces that transport you back to another era. The further you wander the quieter it gets. It’s a fulfilling adventure not to be missed. Venice is a place for falling in love!