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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

TPThursday: Hauntingly Beautiful Venice

While Halloween’s celebrations in the United States came to an end last night, All Saints Day celebrations begin today in cities around the world.  Venice, where we were last week, is among those places observing this more reserved, somber day of remembering the dead and departed.

With Travel Photo Thursday bridging Halloween and All Saints Day (also known as All Soul’s Day or Day of the Dead, depending on location and varying in date by a day or two) here are some of our hauntingly beautiful memories of our stay:

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While Carnivale is the celebration marking end of Lent each year; a time when party-goers will bring these masks to life, there was something about those sight-less eyes peering out of window displays that gave a ghost-like feel to them. . .

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The city is filled with statues of heavenly saints.  This one, deformed by time and the elements, gazed with blind eyes on visitors in Venice’s Music Museum.  Or was he still able to keep an eye on the visitors like me who aimed their cameras at his weather-worn being?

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This skeleton is a modern art installation at the side of the Grand Canal – his sightless gaze as spooky as the saint’s above.

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Ever notice how your imagination comes to life in the dark? As our lone  footsteps echoed on the walkway we thought we heard the voice of an opera singer.  The music seemed to come from someplace above us. . .but from where? It wasn’t recorded, but was it live?

We’d not finished pondering the source of the music when a large rat scurried past me and hurtled into the canal with a corresponding splash – now that one did give me goose pimples!

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As we walked along that dark canal route between the restaurant where we ate and our apartment, we came upon another mask shop with these two fellows looking out at us. The song, Music of the Night from the musical, Phantom of the Opera, came to mind:

". . .Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness that you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the night. . .”

That’s it for Travel Photo Thursday. Head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for more photos.  We’ll get back to more practical matters in the coming week with posts about a new guest chef on the Celebrity ship, a don’t-miss-this-restaurant in Bologna, and who to call for tours there and give you a ‘spritz’ of place in Venice and a taste of KLM’s Business Class Food and Wine Celebration. . .

23 comments:

  1. I love Venice and it is one of my favorite cities. You've captured some haunting shots. I never really looked at those masks as having a ghost like feel to them but now realize they do. We've walked the Venetian streets at night and it was very eerie and we always felt like we were being watched.

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    1. There is something eerie about those streets at night. . .isn't there?

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  2. The masks are really quite sinister when you see them looking at you from the shop window. I love walking the streets of Venice at night but I might think a bit differently about it now!

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    1. Just let your imagination run wild and you could be jumping at shadows along those canals.

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  3. Venice! I will go back one of these days. Great shots, Jackie!

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  4. Hi you two! I was in Venice from the 18th-23rd, could we have crossed paths? SUCH an amazing and unique city, I had a wonderful time!

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    1. Good to hear from you! We arrived in Venice on the 23rd and left last Monday. Wish we'd have overlapped, it would have been fantastic to see you. Send me an email sometime and let us know what you've been up to.. .
      xoxo
      j and j

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  5. Great photos! I love the masks. You're right, our minds to play tricks on us in the dark :)

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    1. Definitely this time of year when everything seems a bit eerie and dreary!

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  6. I must admit, I'd be a little nervous and my imagination would definitely begin to work overtime! Looks like a fun experience.

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    1. It really was fun and I do love night time solo walks along those deserted canals.

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  7. Venezia really is haunting, isn't it? Love autumn and winter there, the fog, the echoing sounds, the spooky atmosphere. Nice captures!

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    1. Yes, the echoing really does add to the atmosphere there, doesn't it?

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  8. I've always been fascinated by the masks worn in Venice. One of these days I'm going to go there, buy one and wear it! It's very cool that you heard opera music -- did you ever find the source? Those Phantom of the Opera lyrics are perfect accompaniment for this post.

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    1. I told myself how nice one would look hanging on the wall at home and then the logistics reality of getting it home set in. . .needless to say, they'll be remembered in photos.

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  9. Very spooky indeed! Loved the photos this week!

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  10. Wow... I'd love to see Venice. What a fun time of year to be there. I hear Venice is an easy route to get to Slovenia (which I have plans to visit this summer). Any ideas for me?

    I just came across you blog for the first time. I love your way with words (fitting to your title, I guess).

    Here's to future travels! Cheers!

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    1. Hi Jordan, Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see your photo among our followers soon! We arrived in Venice, coming from Slovenia (58 nautical miles) on a cruise ship. We LOVED Slovenia; so much so we also want to go back soon and all we saw was Koper and Piran(both not to be missed). There are ferries between Venice and Slovenia and also train service via Trieste. Not sure about the car rental from country to country, but it seemed the roads we saw were good and would be easy to drive there (much English spoken and written in Slovenia). Hope that helps, shoot us an email if you have more questions.

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  11. Creepy. I never thought about it, but in a way, Venice reminds me a little bit like New Orleans. Your photos of the mask are what really brought it together for me.

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