Life in Venice/Dawn

The only thing that annoys me in Venice is the people. Being sociophobic by nature and a loner who worships solitude this should be very much expected. But I have to admit that things get somehow different in Europe , either the people there are too civilized to annoy anyone, or I am more consumed with the beauty that I don't even see the people or feel annoyed by their presence. But people in Venice make you feel as if you opened an old fairy tale book, and across the breathtaking pictures of the city you find that some child has drawn those matchstick human figures with colored pencils… How annoying! In an attempt to see the city without people and based on a good friend's advice that the dawn over the Grand Canal is a scene not to be missed, I followed the advice and woke up very early to see what Venice is having for me. I left the hotel around 4 am. Getting out of the warm hotel, I was struck by two things; the terribly cold weather and the fog… It was cold, really cold, and although I was well equipped –or so I thought- with my thick coat, ice cap and gloves, the cold air was powerful enough to penetrate right to the bones… But who cares, I love winter, I miss it in Cairo which offers me all what I dislike, so some cold winter would be a treat in itself, so off I went. Being totally immersed in the sea, fog was literally covering the whole city, I couldn't see a meter away, and again that was a treat, how many times does it get foggy in Cairo's winter? Walking in the fog and having the objects appearing very slowly under the dark sky and the dim light of the street lanterns, combined by the cold air, the empty streets and the complete silence, I thought I must be feeling scared or at least afraid. But no, nothing related to fear was there, I was happy, smiling, inhaling the cold wet air and wishing my lungs could expand 10 times to absorb as much of the clean air as possible. Air that smells of nothing, like we used to study at school in science lessons that air and water are colorless and odorless. It was air as air should be, clean, cold, wet and fresh... I kept walking randomly across the empty streets, my breath sending this warm white vapours into the air, childish as it sounds but again this is something I really love and miss. The streets were empty, now I can see city as it should be seen. Not a single person out there, the beautiful ancient buildings standing mightily in a foggy scene barely illuminated by the street lamps and sinking in the bluish light of dawn… Why are words so insufficient when I need them to tell you what I saw, how it looked like and how it made me feel? As if I suddenly became a part of one of Monet's paintings, where everything is portrayed behind the veil of fog and the buildings silhouette all around you. The sky was dark and with the very slow fading of the fog, it started to acquire a deep dark translucent blue color that lightened very slowly. I sat on one of the docks watching the beautiful surroundings and wishing that time would stop. I would keep on walking every now and then, staying as close as possible to the water and going over every single bridge to have a high view of the sleeping city. It was Sunday, no people were expected to be seen at this time of the day and for the next couple of hours as well, and that in itself was more tempting to absorb as much as possible of the authentic fairy tale look of this legendary place. A very shy sun was trying to prove its presence from behind the cloudy sky and the foggy air, its helpless trials only ended in a very faint yellowish circle that kept showing weakly but persistently, it was a typical winter morning. Why does time fly when we want it to stop? The enchanting church bells rang filling the air with their deep harmonious echoing sounds, waking me up from this dreamlike walk and bringing me back to earth, but gently... very gently. It was 8 am, time for the Sunday mass in the Basilica of San Marco. I walked towards the cathedral that I have seen the day before and decided that my week in Venice would never have a better start. To be continued...