Elegant Decline

Venice is a city of great expectations. Oft photographed, we all know it to be a grand place of palatial proportions where the streets are flooded with visitors, and water. Most travelers come to see the usual collection of majestic sites and neglect the opportunity to delve deeper into the backwater canals and neighborhoods of this legendary location. For me, Venice so exceeded my romanticized imagination of it as a quintessentially serene and beautiful place that I endeavored to spend as much time as my pocketbook and employer would allow to get to know the city through and through. After two months navigating from lost to found, I feel an intimate connection with Venice that extends far beyond the tourist centers of the Rialto or San Marco, though barely scratching the surface. Encore exploration is inevitable.