“In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths
you took, but how many moments took your breath away”
Shing Xiong

Stepping out of the Santa Lucia Train Station in Venice, is for me like
stepping into a colorful fairy tale, a fairy tale on water.
I fell in love with Venice many years ago, and it always amazes me each
time I return, it literally, takes my breath away.

The Grand Canal is the Main Street of Venice. Lined with 170 ornate
Byzantine-Style Palazzos belonging to wealthy families, it is a festival
of color and beauty.

Our water taxi would take us to the wonderful Hotel Metropole, that
overlooks the lagoon. It is a 5 star hotel that is of museum quality
filled with over 2000 antiques and treasures. The moment we walked
in the lobby, we were seduced by the beautiful and serene atmosphere.
Our room was lovely and spacious enough to accommodate the three
of us. We would be here for three nights and it truly was a fantastic
experience.

No matter where you walk to in Venice or perhaps ride a gondola
this is what you see, the colors and the richness of the city.

San Giorgio Maggiore viewed from the main island.

Saint Marks Basilica. It is the most famous of the city’s churches and
one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture. It is
located in Saint Marks Square.

The Bridge of Sighs. The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last
view of Venice that convicts would see before imprisonment.

The colorful life of Venice.

The famous Gondolas of Venice where you can sit back and listen to
the romantic italian songs and gaze at the beautiful landscape of Venice
that surrounds you.

The back Canals of Venice

After walking the back streets of Venice, and yes, getting lost a time or
two, we would head back to the Hotel Metropole and the three of us
would sit in this lovely room adjacent to a small elegant restaurant,
and drink our peach bellini. They were the best I have ever had.
That is one of my favorite memories of Venice and this lovely hotel.

One of my favorite movies is Summertime, with Katherine Hepburn
and Rossano Brazzi. It is a love story of a spinster that travels to
Venice and falls in love. The red goblets are an important part of the
movie and when I saw this movie for the first time, I knew if I ever went
to Venice, I would look for those goblets. I was able to find them and
purchased these three in these exact sizes. They are amongst my
favorite possessions and I cherish them.

It would be time to leave Venice soon. We had a wonderful three days
seeing the sights of Venice, visiting a few museums and the beautiful
Basilicas of this magnificent city. We walked the back streets of Venice
where the locals live and was able to totally immerse ourselves in the
sights and sounds of life here. We interacted with the people and
enjoyed the wonderful food of Italy. It had been a perfect three days
and we would laugh, because for those three days, we would live like
Princess’s at the Hotel Metropole.

Arrivederci Beautiful Venice, till we meet again.