We cross our little bridge because it’s 10am and we’re hungry. We’ve slipped easily into the pattern of life here. 8am, the church bells ring and we’re roused from sleep; we crawl out of bed and light the stove for coffee; time to check e-mail and browse the news, both personal and political; we shower,…

In less than an hour on the Vaporetto, we took a day trip from Venice to the islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is famous for artisan glass. The story goes that after their molten furnaces ignited too many fires, glass makers were required by the Doge to move from Venice to this little island. Isolation…

We stand in St Mark’s square and stare wide-eyed at the cathedral, built more than a thousand years ago – we are stunned by its beauty and scale. The square is full of people and pigeons. String quartets play on four stages around the square; a couple grasps hands and begins to waltz. Vendors of T-shirts, magnets, and masks stand…

We may have missed La Biennale if our neighbor hadn’t told us about it. (Thanks Christen!) It’s a contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years – odd years – in Venice. This is the 54th annual exhibition. More than 34 countries exhibit sculpture, performing art, painting, modern media, music, dance, theater and, of course,…

We rented this little house in Venice for the same price as a mid-range hotel. It’s in the San Polo area, just around the corner from the Frari church; you can see the tower when you look out our door. Some say that the inside of the Frari is the most beautiful of all the…

We turn the corner to another dead end; a fellow tourist walks toward us, shrugs, and smiles. We consult our map for the hundredth time. Here, you hope for a glimpse of a familiar tower or the occasional weathered sign mentioning San Marco or Rialto to confirm that you’re walking in the right direction. We’re…

Imagine that it’s your first day of school in a new city – only this school is halfway around the world and you don’t speak the same language as the other kids. Standing in front of the class, the teacher is about to introduce you. Your palms sweat, your heart races, your throat tightens, and every face looking…

  I thought I would tell you about being awake for 26 hours because neither of us slept during our flights; or that we have yet to solve the problem that our cell phones don’t work here; or that we got a crash course (fortunately not on the plane) in Italian train travel because we missed…