Wanderlust: Venice

The ubiquitous gondolier.

Children of all nationalities agree on one thing when visiting Venice: playing with pigeons is all the rage.

The Grand Canal is exactly what people say it is. It's a canal, and it's grand.

Venice: Unique And Alone

Venice is a city characterized by descriptions. It is probably the most written-about city on the planet, and, as a result, travelers will never be able to write anything original about the crowning jewel of the Italian peninsula. People the world over are in love with this city; but venice is rarely in love with people.

It's antiquated; it's palatial; it's romantic; it's dreary; it's lazy. If Venice were a person, it would probably be demure--even indifferent, avoiding the incessant questions about its illustrious past and whorish present. It has enchanted and confounded travelers and locals alike for centuries, and with every inch the city sinks, the more its mystique will rise.

When you step away and consider Venice objectively, you realize that, outside of admiring the city itself, there isn't much to do. Compared to other cities in Italy, the food isn't great, the museums and churches aren't exactly famous, the locals are hard to find, and the nightlife is almost nonexistent. So, how are we entertained? Is it the bliss that comes from inhaling pasta decorated with squid-ink? Is it the grandeur of the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Square? Is it that the few locals we do see amaze us by being astoundingly apathetic about the incredible city around them? Or is it that being literally the only person astir in the city after midnight--walking canals aimlessly and absorbing the ghostly qualities of a dying city alone-- beats looking for bars and clubs in Milan and Rome?

Venice is idisyncratic. If San Francisco is like Lisbon, if Berlin is like Warsaw, if Chicago is like New York, if Tokyo is like Seoul, then Venice is like Venice. The city is easy to describe, yet difficult to explain. I think it is for this reason that so many people love it. Being left speechless or incapable of explaining joy is usually a result of something good. The only thing you can do is go there yourself and let its canals whet your palate.