A Birthday in Venice

The one thing I want to remember, among all of the crowds of tourists and souvenir shops, is the real Venice. The hush in the morning before the town was awake. The lapping of the water near my window as a gondolier glided by and the sound of the church bells In the distance.

On my birthday, Robert and I started out walking down the maze of streets and intentionally getting lost, wanting to discover quieter pockets of neighborhoods. Walking through narrow alleys, I looked for the perfect spot to paint. Turning a corner, there was absolute silence as we came upon a small arched bridge connecting pink, yellow and cream colored buildings. The still, celadon colored water stopped us in our tracks as we gasped, knowing this was it. With quiet reverence, as if in a cathedral, we each found our own spot...me to paint, and Robert to do photography. I lsat down on the edge of a granite walkway and took in the colors around me. I found my favorite little window and bridge and suddenly I was in heaven.

As I began painting, a gentle rain started. With no umbrella, I continued to paint. As a few drops hit my painting, it gave the painting a wonderful texture. Here's the painting I did, and if you look close, it has real Venice raindrops in it...

...and here's Robert's beautiful shot.

Across the bridge, Robert waved his hand and motioned for me to look up the canal. Right in front of me appeared a beautiful black gondola filled with a few people with colored umbrellas and the gondolier wearing his full regalia...

Every year on my birthday, I have taken the day off to paint, as a way of indulging in my favorite thing to do. This morning was not only my birthday, it was my 60th birthday, and I was in a place that I had dreamt of all of my life. I was here where art began. I was in Italy, the best birthday present of all.

The rest of the day followed with wandering through quieter, lesser-known streets, real neighborhoods and piazzas, accompanied by the sheer joy of discovery. The day ended with my birthday dinner. We first celebrated at a cafe and had our first Bellini ( thank you Dick Ellers!), a wonderful concoction of peaches and champagne. 

Then on to our dinner at La Piscina at Pensione La Calcina, a wonderfully located restaurant right on the Guidecca canal with a sunny view of Guidecca itself (thank you Roseanne Burke!). King prawns, a curry risotto cake with asparagus and a chocolate torte with drizzle of caramel for desert, (and a candle of course.) Note: I promised my daughters that I would photograph as many of our meals as I possibly could. So here I am, at a four start Michelin rated restaurant, as I tried to discreetly whip out my iPad and camera to photograph the meal. The French couple that sat next to us frowned and whispered in disapproval. Hey, it's my birthday and I'll shoot if I want to (isn't that a song???). In the end, I think I had the best memories of all...