The Amazing Charms Of this Paradise On the Water BY BARBARA BARTON SLOANE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL SLOANE
Stepping into an ankle-deep puddle, I almost lost my footing and quickly had to grab the hand of an elderly gentleman who then ceremoniously led me onto a large wooden plank sitting atop several inches of water, courtesy of the Grand Canal. Walking the plank before I reached the hotel door, a fierce gust of wind blew off my hat and turned my umbrella into a bowl-shaped, useless thing. After this inauspicious start, if one were to look at me they’d see someone with eyes sparkling and a mouth turned upward in a silly grin. So why was I still smiling? It’s simple—I was in Venice, and I dare anyone, in any weather and under any circumstance, not to greet the sight of this wonder on the water without smiling. Impossible. Can’t be done. My venture into the Veneto region of Italy did, indeed, start off soggily, but soon the fabled sun that graces this region was out and my umbrella was in—back in my luggage, not to make another appearance for the rest of the trip. Once ensconced in my room at the Luna Hotel Baglioni, I was quickly transported into a Venetian dream with a window that looked out on a canal, water softly plashing against the hotel’s walls. That evening, my travel companions and I had a special treat awaiting us. We walked a short distance to Piazza San Marco and stood transfixed by a luminous silver sky, mauve clouds scudding quickly across the Campanile, and of course, ubiquitous grey pigeons swooping
visions OF veneto Juliet’s Balcony.