I heard children’s laughter. Yesterday I got a letter from heaven. A get out of jail free card. The postman tried to deliver a package when I was in the shower.

My walks to the grocery store in quarantine are meandering journeys. I try a new route. I see no one. I notice details I couldn’t see amidst the cacophony of tourists. La Serenissima is serene.

The Most Serene Republic was the longest lasting democracy in history- nearly a millennium. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams actually corresponded with the Venetian Senate to get advice before writing the constitution. Today Venice is a day trip from a cruise ship or the mainland but once it was an island at the center of the world - where East met West. The Doge ruled the world from a parcel of reclaimed land no larger than Central Park. Marco Polo was a Venetian and set out to explore the world from this cradle.

Me living in Venice was not by accident.

After 8 tumultuous years in Berlin too harrowing to discuss lest they consume this entry I came to Venice to convalesce.

Convalesce: To recover one's health & strength over a period of time.

I once convalesced on the beach in Goa after being ill in Mumbai- I spent weeks taking in the sun and sea.

When I decided to leave Berlin, with my job I was in a unique position. I could go anywhere. I considered Asia. I’d spent my 20s in the USA, my 30s in Europe. The idea of my 40s in Asia appealed but after spending 3 months researching and traveling South East Asia I didn’t feel at home there. Sometimes Cambodia still calls to me - the jungles of Siem Reap resonate. They whisper.

But I needed a home.

I needed to feel at home.

Paris was a logical choice for my job. It was the 1st place I lived in Europe but as Thomas Wolfe said you can’t go home again. Belgium was also logical but boring. England I adore but I didn’t want to be poor. I settled on Avignon. My French is better than my Italian but I couldn’t act even though it felt right professionally. This wasn’t a time to foster my career. I needed to feed my soul.

Meanwhile month after month I found excuses to go to Venice. One day I was at my ex-husbands apartment in Berlin, sitting on his couch, my feet resting in his lap and I shared my dream. I’d broached the idea the year before of moving and he looked like I’d killed his best friend. He had broken my heart with his affair, but I didn’t want to break his. Adding more pain to the situation helped no one. I was trying - I am trying - and it’s so bloody hard - to end this marriage with dignity respecting the 20 years we had together.

I’ve always wanted to live in Venice. I said.

As a child I played gondolier in my bathtub standing wearing a black & white striped shirt pantless swooshing my moms yellow broom.

He knew how profoundly unhappy I had been for the 3 years we’d been separated and he smiled, “Venice makes you happy.”

It does. I said. I can be totally alone sitting in a campo sipping a spritz and I never feel lonely. Loneliness was a coat I wore daily those days in Berlin. I had never been single in my life and learning to be single wasn’t easy.

I feel at peace in Venice. I said.

You should move. He said.

When you talk of Venice your eyes smile. You look serene. He was right. It was the place I’d been wanting to move but had been waiting for him - for us - to be ready.

I moved to Venice 2 years ago and Serenity found me. Le Donne della Serenissima

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.

WEBSITE: www.trulyveniceapartments.com

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