Yep, it's been a long time...

Hello world!

Motoring past the 15th century Palazzo Molin Erizzo on the Grand Canal.  Photo (c) Capturing Venice 2016

It's been a really long time since I've felt like writing...But here I am again. 

I've dusted myself off. 

I've got those sticky cobwebs out of my head. 

I've even dropped into Venice for a week-long trip that went way too fast.

And now I can feel that my heart is beating again.

I have so many new photos and discoveries to share with you. 

Let's start with this one: captured on the Alilaguna boat as it motored from Marco Polo airport down the Grand Canal as dusk fell over my beloved city. 

I managed to take the long road when I booked my trip, so it had taken me about 40 hours to get from Sydney to Venice. I was tired and crumpled. But - oh the joy of landing in Venice. 

I love how the Alilaguna speeds up as it exits the airport and the freshness of the lagoon air and wind after many hours on an airplane.  I love that thump of the motoscafo on the waves. I love putting my head up to the window and feeling the spray on my face. And then that stately journey down the Grand Canal toward San Marco...

Just looking at this photo has my feet wanting to run back to Venice.  

A big thank you to all of you, my dear readers for staying the course with me. It's good to be back. It's good to see you again ❤️. 

View from the Accademia bridge

Whenever I stand on the Accademia bridge, the first object that my eye will seek out is the dear, familiar, flat roofline of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the 'unfinished palazzo' and home of my beloved Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Once I've had my fill, I'll let my attention wander to the graceful dome of the Basilica della Salute and the Dogana del Mar beyond.

And finally, I'll notice the brightly coloured patterns of the typically Venetian mooring posts.

View from the Accademia bridge

A working city, just like any other

When you stand on the summit of the Accademia bridge, taking in that iconic view down the Grand Canal towards the Basilica della Salute and the Dogana del Mar, it's easy to forget that you're not simply standing in a beautiful tableaux, but standing in a working city.

Look down below: those people on the vaporetti...some of them might actually be locals, simply trying to do their daily shopping, collect their children or get to work, despite the thronging of tourists and day-trippers all around them.  Look at those little vessels racing underneath you...perhaps there is a police boat, or a fire boat, on its way to an emergency.

And look at this boat, prosaically ferrying television sets and wicker chairs under the watchful eager gaze of this tourist.

Moving goods on the Grand Canal

That sweet bend of the Grand Canal

There are so many places in Venice that squeeze my heart.  

It took me some years to find such a spot on the Grand Canal - which always seemed so public, so much 'on-view', too well-known and well-traversed to be personal for me.  

But some years ago I was walking around the Rialto, in that sheltered part where the Naranzaria and Il Bancogiro operate, and I stopped suddenly and looked around - and it was like seeing that familiar curve of the Rialto bridge for the very first time...that short distance across to the other side of the Rialto bridge, the many lives hurrying by...  

And just like that - this sweet 'S' bend of the Grand Canal has become personal and beloved for me.  

This is what it looked like heading down the Grand Canal on a vaporetto:

The grace of a gondola

I stood on the summit of the Accademia bridge, and drank in that iconic view of the Grand Canal, sweeping down towards the serene, welcoming beauty of the Salute.  

The sun was shining, and I listened to the chatter of other tourists sweeping up and down the broad steps of the bridge, stopping to admire, and photograph and smile.  

I lazily scanned the traffic passing beneath the bridge and in the distance, I enjoyed watching the skill of the gondolier as he gracefully steered his elegant little black vessel across the canal.

View from the Accademia bridge