Sorry for being such a party pooper for romantics (I consider myself one, btw. It must be society of cynics getting to me). Let me start this blog by copy-pasting a quick Google search I did on Venice.
‘Venice is probably the most romantic city in the world; its unique watery landscape gives the city a magical quality that is irresistible…’
‘The romantic city of water, that is how Venice is known to the masses. Who visits Italy, has to see Venice as well’
Even..
‘Why is Venice Italy a romantic city?’ on answers.com without any answers to it.
And finally, my favourite, from a tabloid The Sun,
‘The singer took a romantic gondola ride with pretty LUSIANA LOPILATO (famous chick in Brit) in Venice, but the stirring sights of the city failed to provoke even the slightest smile. At one point he even looked like he couldn’t wait to get off the watery ride as he rested his head on his hands.’ This accompanied a photo of the a grumpy looking singer.
I like what Sun said. Rather I understand what the Sun said. What is so romantic about the city after all? Why does the whole world keep on gushing about it? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the get-lost-in tiny lanes over canals that Venice is. Venice, I am sorry to say, looks good just in photos (as proof find here the pictures I clicked). It stinks for one. It’s a dead town full of three hundred year old buildings and romantics with gooey eyes.
It’s actually more of a museum (the reason I could have loved it). it has old houses still standing, old bridges still standing, old lanes still standing from 300-500 years ago. The old people though have died and long gone away. There’s no one who lives there any more. Venetians, don’t live in Venice. They just cant afford it. It’s too touristy and expensive. All day long, you will just find people loitering with starry-eyed gushes, ready to pay for super-expensive food in restaurants over looking filthy water. Lakes in Bangalore are much more romantic and cleaner!
I know this wouldn’t stop people from hankering after this dead town and lusting to go to Venice all gushy-eyed in hope to ignite long-dead romances. I know I wanted to be there to see the flame myself. But, it didn’t happen, because the flame, my dear readers, is in our hearts. The Venice we need is actually in our head and our heart. In us. Not in an old, dead place.
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I just took a two week trip to Paris and Italy. Instead of a one-shot summary of the travel, I am breaking my experiences up in thoughts, ideas and learning I took away from the beautiful continent. Presented in a series of blogs called Notes from Europe, it will be written across a few days, weeks or months, I am not sure which. I aim to present things I remember to have thought when I was in the continent from where modern culture as we know it has stemmed from.