What can I say about Venice.
It's the same feeling that you get after you've dated some wonderful men, but suddenly find "the one".
Those far more eloquent have written about this beautiful old decaying city so I will just say ahhhhhh.
Some interesting facts about Venice.
Everyone knows that the city is sinking and with global warming, city officials are fighting a losing battle to keep it above the ocean. At high tide, in summer, St Marks Square is puddled with water...even after an extensive project that basically removed all the square filled it with 3 ft of sand and then replaced the stones.
Also the people of are leaving- at a rate of about 1000 per year, the 40,000 inhabitants will soon be gone.
They can't afford to live here. A 100' sq studio can cost a million dollars and the tourists quickly become irritating.
Eventually it will become a large theme park with the only people living here, the workers and the extremely wealthy....it is well on its way now.
There is no denying the beauty of Venice, but you have no space to enjoy that feeling without a tourist posing on the bridge you are walking or a hawker shoving a rose or a lighted toy or a fake designer purse in your face.
Of course I am a tourist also, but I would prefer to be a traveler. In this city you only get stolen moments in the early morning or late evening where you can actually focus on things like - Napolean was right in this spot, as was Hemingway and Wagner and Cassanova ..and so many others.
History...right here under my aching feet. I wish I had paid more attention to history in school.