Venice, home
And then there are the nights that remind you there is no place else you’d rather be than in Venice, happy to be home from vacation wondering why you ever left for vacation or otherwise. It’s late - nearly 2 am as I crawl in bed which is very late for me. I’ve had dinner with friends in the moonlight on the Zattera. Glasses clinking. Candle light flickering. Laughter. A cool breeze keeps the mosquitos away. Maybe we were too high for the mosquitoes - the Giudecca Canal sloshes down 4 floors below. The apartment has a 365 degree view of Venice and we eat dinner on an altana overlooking Salute. Figs and Mascarpone Gorgonzola. A touch of prosciutto. Artichokes Pan Fried. Tomatoes sliced as thin as carpaccio. Followed by a giant roasted sea bass. With potatoes and rhubarb. Salt pinched from a bowl sprinkled on the fish, but it’s not needed, salt on my lips is the taste of August. It’s so hot steam rises off the Fondamenta . And we talk of faraway places. In Venice you’re always in two places at once. East meets west. Venice looks outward. It’s what differentiates the Italians from the Venetians. Italians usually look in. We are sitting - me, Sabina and Anne- at this table on a rooftop in Venice and we discover we know 4 people in common in a small town in the north of Thailand. The world is small. Me an American. Anne Swiss German. And Sabina a citizen of the world. We talk further and as I walk home down the tight calles then popping out in front of the Accademia to cross the bridge, I find myself transported to Bangkok remembering that night. The night of the French diamond smuggler. He swore he wasn’t a smuggler but I said “smugglers always say they aren’t”. He was planning to buy - at the time - a restaurant in Chiang Mai. Do they know him? I’m at the Mandarin Oriental sitting on the banks of the Chao Phraya. The two men at the table next to me are counting stones. Rubies. Sapphires. Citrines. This is not an uncommon sight in Bangkok- jewelry dealers from around the world come here to source at the JTC and other less obvious places along Silom Road. I stare openly and make a joke in a French, mostly because I love surprising people who don’t know I’ve been eavesdropping on their conversation. An American woman traveling abroad is often underestimated. Being underestimated is a super power. They do the run every other week with stones in their pocket between BKK and the Place de Vendome in Paris. Later back at my hotel Anatara Siam I see one of the Frenchmen from the MO - he steps into my elevator- quelle surprise- Bonsoir - we laugh- Fancy seeing you here- we both push 4, walking down the hall - awkwardly stopping in front of neighboring rooms. Again we laugh and I notice his eyes are the color of Emeralds. The next morning I wake to the sound of my door rustling. Like someone testing the doorknob. A note is slid under my door addressed To the American Woman. Will you join me for a drink tonight at 8pm? I show up downstairs at 8.10pm and he has rented a motorcycle. I assumed the drink was going to be in the hotel bar, but no, he wants to take me to a French bar. Maggie Choos is a chic speakeasy on Silom Road. Jazz like I’ve never heard before is in the background.. and There were acrobats on swings hanging from the ceiling and I order a mojito. It’s August in Bangkok. And again the taste of August is salt on my upper lip. A tiny trail of sweat snakes along my spine. It’s an easy night. Interesting conversation. Less chemistry more recognition of similar wandering souls. Souls meet at night. Riding back to the hotel traffic snakes along the Silom road to our hotel. Traffic lights glittering Iike emeralds. Such a surreal night. I never thought I’d ride on the back of a motorcycle in Bangkok with a French man. Melanie says, “Only you. This only happens to you.” Sitting on a rooftop in Venice I’m reminded of that night. I reach up. And play with my earring. I’m wearing my snake earrings, I designed that summer in Bangkok for Republic of Toma Fashion. Emeralds are encrusted in the spine of the Snake. A tiny pearl rests on my shoulder. I cross Accademia Bridge walking home behind two Frenchmen discussing an art acquisition from a private Palazzo in Venice. Art Smugglers I think and a laugh slips out. Venice nights are like this- in Venice you are always 2 places at once. In the morning I’m joining Chiara and Federica for a trip to the Armenian island. Now I sleep
OUR SPONSOR:
Truly Venice is a trademark owned by Property Solutions, a Swiss based company that operates as an agent for property owners wishing to lease their properties for short and long term stays. The company was founded in 2007 by a small entrepreneurial team that sees a great opportunity in offering people all over the world an alternative accommodation to hotels going beyond the traditional tourist trip.
We aim to offer a personalised service, organizing restaurant bookings and taxi services, finding the appropriate meeting and exhibition space as well as offering flowers, special wines and food baskets. Property Solutions is a customer focused company that values your ideas, comments and thoughts. We encourage you to give us feedback on any aspect of our business, whether it be about the website, the service or one of our apartments.
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