Venice – You Can’t Always Swim There

I had to sort out my photos of Venice after being reminded of it by news reports that it’s experiencing its worst flood in, depending on your source, two years or twenty-two years.    Small difference, really if you ask any women who lie about their age. But I digress. 

Venice isn’t the kind of city where you have to go to Spots A-to-Z to get your fill of the sights. The city IS the sight and it’s perpetually bathed in warm hues that tells of the 35 degrees Celsius heat in August.

My prior stop had been Brixen up in the Alps and the change in scenery took some getting used to. There was a thick crowd through the day; canals replaced roads and people stopped speaking German and drinking beer.

Walking is the main means of getting around town so it’s perpetually packed wherever you go. St Mark’s Square was overwhelming in every way. We had wandered into a series of alleyways and a turn brought us to full view of this massive structure that on a bad day might just sprout limbs, transform into a Decepticon and rain devastation on us all.

In spite of all the grandeur, one kid stole the moment for us. There was a small crowd of photographers that had gathered around a spot and the crowd was growing pretty fast. Right in the middle of the commotion was this oblivious little girl (and a guardian who’s not in the picture) who’s having the best time in the world with a pigeon she’s caught.

I’ve always wondered if pigeons were as fluffy as they look and I think I got an answer when she squeezed this one a little so the feathers puffed  up uncomfortably around the neck. Then she got to spreading each wing and examining them.

Birds, if you’re reading this, flying away doesn’t take THAT much effort.