Venice is magic.  I know I sound a bit like a broken record with my use of the word magic, but it’s a feeling that should be repeated again and again until the groove is so habitually carved into your existence that it becomes part of you.  Magic will keep you alive, it will inspire you, it will be the twinkle in your eye that keeps you young, no matter how many years the calendar puts on you.

And this city built on the lagoon and its surrounding shoals has it in spades.  I was told that nobody that’s anybody visits Venice in August.  The heat, the scent, the lack of locals who have made their way to other coastal locales, make it de riguer to be anywhere near Venice in this final month of summer.  Well, I received their memo, but this was the time available to me, and I took it.  Rest assured, there are plenty of people that did the same.  The tiny side streets that make up the Big Island were teaming with tourists this morning, and it is not too hot, and the scent in the air is lovely.

After a long travel day that included taxis, both land and water, buses, trains, and two flights I arrived to sunny skies, bustling activity, and found my way to an outrageously (worth every penny) boat taxis to my hotel – The Splendid Venezia.  Bags on board, wind blowing through my hair as we wound our way through the canals, just slipping under the bridges as it was high tide, so Hollywood starlet I nearly swooned.

The history is evident in the buildings.  Established at exactly noon, or so the story goes, 25 March 421 AD.  I’m always talking about how super old my brownstones are.  The 20th century has nothing on the 15th.  Venice came to be out of necessity.  When Rome fell, it caused a lot of problems for folks, not the least of which was savage barbarians invading, raping and pillaging.  I wouldn’t have wanted to stick around either.  So off they from the mainland seeking refuge from said inconvenience.  The Savage B’s weren’t that good with the sea, and as previously stated Venice isn’t what one would call easily accessible, so they were largely left alone, et voila, so began the rich history of this splendid place.