It isn't easy to write something "new" or "original" about a place that has been the center of discussions and marvelings for centuries. Venice has a sort of mythical quality that, frankly, our writing abilities and tendencies can't compete with. But no matter. The point of this particular entry is not to sell the winding canals, tiny foot paths and sacred tragedies of the sinking city to you. But instead to simply say we spent our 2nd anniversary in this magical place and we couldn't have asked for a better place.
It was beautiful and bore a feeling of long history in the air that carries a particular charm that, no doubt, is unique to Venice itself. Something that each person that visits it can experience in a different way. For us, the most moving experience was walking into the St. Mark's Basilica. Arguably Venice's most famous landmark (located in St. Mark's Square), it stands at the end of the square connected to the Doge's palace on one side and the river on the other. There are three large domes behind a front covered in white stone carving and mosiacs. The outside, howere, did not compare or prepare us for the inside.
We were not allowed to take pictures, and actually I am glad for that as I don't think we could capture the sense of awe and reverance we felt upon first seeing the high ceiling mosiacs, almost completely made of gold and the wrought-iron laterns bearing red votives suspended by long, heavy chains from the domed ceiling. Not to mention the dark grey and brown tinted marble pillars, walls and carvings throughout--all of these together with the light spraying in through the stained glass made the massive sanctuary one of the most beautiful things we have ever seen.
Later that day, we had our special anniversary dinner, ate some gelato and sat in the piazza listening to live music.
Here are some pictures from our wonderful two days in Venice:
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