A WIDOW’S AWAKENING ~
27
I point to the artificial canal. “Yeah, but look at the water. There’s not one piece of garbage floating in there and it doesn’t smell like shit.” “And the problem is…” “This doesn’t feel like Venice.” “This isn’t Venice, Adri, it’s Vegas.” “But what about people who haven’t been to the real place? They’ll totally get the wrong idea. This is beautiful, but it isn’t… authentic.” I get the raised eyebrows. We continue walking toward the hotel foyer and as we get closer, we see a group of elderly tourists, staring—heads back, mouths open—at the ceiling. We follow their gaze and there, on the dome-shaped ceiling, is a magnificent painting. “Ohhhh…” I say, “that is kinda cool.” “Real enough for ya, snotty-pants?” I give Sam a mock punch on the shoulder. “You saw the Sistine Chapel, right?” he asks, as we walk out the hotel doors. “Uh huh.” “That was amazing too, I bet.” “It really was. I mean, despite the fact that I was only twenty-one at the time and more interested in where my next beer was coming from.” He stops. “So, you were in the real Rome, seeing real art and yet you didn’t appreciate it?” I shrug. “I was young.” “I see. Left, or right?” “Um, left. Let’s go check out New York.” We continue along the strip…past a two-block long artificial lake with dancing fountains, past a half-size Eiffel Tower, past a brightly lit castle. “There’s so much of the world to see,” Sam remarks. “Uh huh.”