Beauty burnout

Calle dei Morti*
“There’s no way out, no way out”
Welcome to Venice

It’s easy to feel like a rat in a maze when traveling through Venice. In this case, the cheese is everywhere, not just at the end. Every corner hides a beautiful courtyard, a flower-filled balcony or a squalid corner, a shop full of exquisite merchandise or a beggar with a cup. We feast our eyes to exhaustion, snap photos until our fingers are numb, point and exclaim, exclaim and point, ignoring our tired legs and sated minds, an occasional breeze cooling our red and sweaty faces. By the second day we drag ourselves from one sight to the next, numb to the beauty everywhere, still dutifully taking photos.

As we wander through the back streets of Venice, a woman leans out her second-story window and says in English, “No way out. No way out.” Another tourist comes from the direction we’re heading and nods, “no way out.” We just want to see the water, so we go anyway, following the light.

*Calle dei Morti – Street of the Dead