I haven't written in a while and now I'm too tired to write but I'll jot a bit down anyway. I wanted so much to blog about Venice while I was there. It was amazing and interesting and I learned a lot about myself on that little jaunt. I will have to write about it before I can no longer access how I was feeling while there. It already seems like so very long ago and it was just a matter of weeks.

I am at the office at 9:40 at night. It's the end of our fiscal year and my group works like slaves during this time - too much work, not enough resources, blah blah blah. I am going to go home soon but needed a brain break.

I can't wait to have some time to spend editing and posting the Venice pictures. Some turned out quite nice. I'm going to Mexico for a few days and then I have another work trip to England for two weeks. That's a long time to be gone and it's my third or fourth time to be away that long. A weekend in England should be nice. Hopefully I won't have to work and my camera and I can take another trip.

A new love

I think I may be in love with Italy. The people - so nice, so gracious and so genuine. The food - wow...I can't begin to do the food justice with the adjectives I know. The shopping - the leather for purses and handbags - the clothing that I'll probably never fit in but could look at all day. The architecture - it is rich and old and beautiful yet the city is clean and fresh and vibrant. It's amazing.

My parents met a lady in Venice who came here for vacation with her husband and when she went back home to New York she realized that the place in the world she'd been longing for was in Italy. She'd thought it was some internal happiness that she could find if she could do more yoga or put in more community service hours but it was actually a physical location where she felt that in tune and tuned in. She felt at home. She left her home in New York and moved to Venice where she gives tours to Americans. She and her husband are still married and see each other three times a year. I can almost understand why she did all that. There is something truly magical about this place. It is so rich and beautiful - I didn't get that when I was here years ago - I was too young to appreciate its inner and outer beauty.

I won't be leaving home and uprooting my life to live here but I will be figuring out a way to get back soon and spend a good long while visiting, photographing and enjoying the vibrations of this amazing place. The owner of the restaurant described her food as coming from the "woman energy of the hands" - I think that this place has the woman energy of the gods hands.

Buona notte

I am in Italy so I feel I need to use itallics for a font - something fancier than usual as Italy is a fancy place. I am staying at a Marriott which is generally a nice hotel but not a fancy hotel. The chandelier in the lobby is this large clear and pink crystal sculpture with flowers and intricate designs...it is so gaudy that it is pretty...sort of. I need to snap a picture to post...it really is something.
So far, true to a work trip form, I've seen very little outside the hotel and office. I'm venturing out for dinners within walking distance but haven't laid eyes on a single pretty shoe yet, except the ones I brought, and they don't count. The people here are very gracious. They aren't annoyed or irritated that I don't speak their language. Many speak English but fewer than anywhere else I've travelled (excpet maybe the Southern states in the US!). They try hard to point and mime and gesture so we can communicate in some fashion.
Thursday the shops are open a bit later so Rebecca, a fabulous gal from England, is taking us shopping. She's a young little thing who moved to Italy to follow the love of her life...who doesn't speak any English...and she speaks no Italian...but they seem to get along just fine. He's learned a little English...she's learned a little Italian...and they mostly speak in tongues. Sorry, bad joke. So Thursday I will get to see Milan.
The thing I wanted to see most while here is the Last Supper fresco - but sadly you have to reserve a time to see it and there is no remaining time left this week. So, another day perhaps. I am excited about venturing out on my own - but a little nervous. It will be fun.
I need to write about my trip to New Orleans but I haven't processed it yet so I will sit with it a while longer and then write. I left feeling happy and sad at the same time - I need to understand that better.
So I think I am losing my internet connection now - my 24 hour card ran out which means it is time to go to bed. Buona notte