I wasn’t really excited to go to Venice.  It’s so cliché to love Venice.  But it has so much of what I love—water, boats, beautiful windows, glass, small streets.  So I admit that I loved Venice, and I stayed for 7 days. 

I saw some amazing churches there, some amazing art (Yoko Ono’s “Wish Tree” which asks participants to write down their wishes and hang them on the tree--mine is right over there), and some amazing weather.  Mostly I just wandered…and I shopped.  It’s about what you do in Venice. 

I was so proud of myself for not getting lost.  And I thought to tell my friend Steve Reich, who has one of the best stories of being lost in Venice, that “all you have to do is follow the signs…” when I realized that I was lost.  I was looking for San Giovanni e Paolo, where there is a Donatello sculpture in the piazza, when I became so disoriented.  But when lost in Venice, just keep walking and, as if my miracle, you will find what you need.  It’s a little strange, actually.  I did find the church and eventually saw a Gregorian concert there (for free) one night.

Here are some more pics of Venice.  http://sheisasinafieldasilkentent.shutterfly.com/pictures/332 

I just read Dyer’s Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, and his descriptions of and insights on Venice are brilliant and spot-on and so much more artworthy than I can describe.  I highly recommend it.