shop keeper

I will always have a mix of emotions about this trip.  Always.  It was my first time out of the country.  I was dirt poor, working two jobs to just get by.  My partner was paying for the entire trip (for me this was uncomfortable but greatly appreciated).  And to top everything off, my parents were furious with me for going (world travel is uncomfortable for them and they did not know the man i was going with - they had visions of him abandoning me in a Roman alley, leaving me for dead).  All that in mind, it is also one of my fondest memories. 

I flew in on New Years morning (a great time to fly if you enjoy cellebrating New Years Eve multiple times on a plane)!  We stayed in Treviso for the first few days.

  Nicholas had family there and the night I came in they prepared the most fabulous 10 course dinner...  I can honestly say this was the best meal of the trip.  Complete with spritzers, wine, cheese, stuffed mushrooms, pasta, meat, dessert.... Truthfully, I couldn't eat everything put before me because it was simply too much.   And I have never been so graciously welcomed into any home as i was into their home.  The meal was made for me simply because Nicholas was my partner and it was my first trip to Italy. 

Venice was beautiful...  Obviously the churches are a must.  Anyone who writes about Italy will tell you that.  But my favorite part was the shops.  I went into a mask maker's shop and simply asked how long he had been making masks.

  Without skipping a beat, he noticed I was cold and took me to the back of the store and sat me infront of his heater.  He then explained his art and how to tell the difference between an authentic handmade mask and the lesser masks.  While I was there, he explained the history behind many masks and I "helped" him adorn his current progects with gems.  San Marco was beautiful.  I fed pigeons and I have a 'kodak picture' of me laughing with pigions everywhere.  But the shop keeper will always be my favorite memory.

Yes... I know the pic quality is poor...  As previously mentioned I was rather poor and so was my camera at that time... :-(