I was 14 and went on vacation south to Italy for four weeks with my parents and three younger brothers. With a Volvo Amazon and a caravan we were on the roads for four weeks.
For almost two weeks we swam in the sea outside Venezia, near the beaches of Lido di Jesolo, and one day my parents decided it was time for all of us to visit the fairy tale city.
In suffocating midsummer heat we went in to La Serenissima, the city which was predicted to disappear in sea like Atlantis. One of my brothers had frequented the travel agencies in Trondheim for months in search of pamflets for our travel, so we were filled up with images. But nothing can prepare you for what meets you the first time you enter the city of Venezia. I was hooked from the first glimpses, walking around all day with my senses open, drinking impressions like a dry sponge.
This was back in 1972, long before the easy way of travelling with credit cards, and my parents soon realized that our day of visiting Venezia was one of the many saint's days when banks are closed. Dad's wallet was filled with travel checks, but without a bank they were worth nothing more than the paper they were written on. The heat was heavy, we were all thirsty and tired, my parents tried every door which could possible be some kind of a bank......closed! All I can remember from this seeking though is the impressions of a city far, far from anything I could have made up in my wildest dreams.
I got a new knowledge of colours that day:
If we were asked what is the leading colour at Venice we should say pink, and yet, after all, we cannot remember that this elegant tint occurs very often. It is a faint, shimmering, airy, watery pink; the bright sea-light seems to flush with it, and the pale witish-green of lagoon and canal drink it in. (Henry James)
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I am writing an article about Venezia which might be the start of travels, travels, travels........ The article is in Norwegian, but I am translating bits and pieces here for you. Come along with me for a week in Venezia, the travel continues tomorrow.
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Quite another topic: Do you know that there is a beautiful, blue flower out there called Britt-Arnhild? Come, take a look!
