Postcard from... The City of Water

Plus chocolate croissants, glittery cat masks and gondola rides...

Postcard from... The City of Water

By Frida 

On a full moon night, we walked along the stone paths through the village. No cars could be seen or heard. In this town, the roads are made of water. The taxis are boats. And there are more bridges than any fairytale place ever had. 

I am talking about... Venice.

We arrived at one o’clock in the morning. I was both excited and a little scared. After all, it was pitch black outside and we could barely see where we were going. Fortunately, we didn’t fall in any of the canals! After walking forever, we finally arrived at our little apartment. And what do you think I did right away?

“Zzzzzzz... Zzzzzzz... Zzzzzzz...”

The next morning we spent roaming around…. not Rome! After all, we were in Venice. I couldn't believe how many people there were! They must have all been sleeping when we arrived. It was packed. The first thing we did was get coffee (for mommy and daddy) and a chocolate croissant (for me). It was super delicious. 

Here is one of the thousands of bridges. There were so many boats below, it was like a traffic jam. 

I couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to go on one of the gondolas. These are sort of like canoes, only much bigger and more beautiful. They have comfortable seats and little cushions for parents to put up their feet and relax. The happy men who paddle them wear striped shirts and sing songs in Italian. 

“When the moon hits the sky, like a big pizza pie, that’s amore...”

The next day we walked by a store filled with colorful masks. I set my eyes upon a purple feline mask, which was covered in glitter and floral decoration. What do you think?

A few nights later, we went to an old fancy restaurant. We ate too much seafood and had Italian ice-cream (gelato) for dessert. I was extra excited because we were supposed to go on a gondola ride after dinner. But, lo and behold, by the time we were finished, every gondola we saw was covered in a big green sheet. They were all closed. I thought we’d never get to go on one. 

Finally, on the last morning, as we were leaving our apartment with all our bags, we heard a man singing under a bridge. His gondola was available! And he could even take our bags, too!

The ride was a little wobbly at first, but very comfortable. The water was shimmery and greenish-brown. Our gondolier took us through winding canals and past a great big house with a weird gate around it and lots of overgrown vines. He told us this house used to belong to... Marco Polo, the famous explorer from Venice who traveled the world! 

[Classical Wisdom Kid Club Members: we’ll have a cool lesson and games about Marco Polo later this week. I know he’s not exactly classical… but he is just TOO COOL not to learn about!]

Along the ride, I let my fingers dip into the cool water. Peering into the deep green canal, I imagined a beautiful mermaid swimming below our boat. I’m glad we got to go on the gondola after all and see the city from the streets made of water. 

Later that afternoon, we started our journey across Italy to Rome. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard my mom yell, “Flamingo!” I looked out the window and saw a flock of pink birds eating brine shrimp on the water. It was fabulous. 

That’s all for today. See you again next week! 

Frida

P.S. We also went to the Gallerie dell'Accademia and saw a lot of paintings! I was able to recognize a few of the Classical persons and stories (with help from my mom)… Can you tell what they are? We’ll put the answers in the next postcard!