Venice the Menace

Zenon:  In serious social withdrawal (no offense, Andrijko).  We have gone from being surrounded by friends for every waking moment in Kyiv, to hanging out with a close-knit group of friends in Lviv, to just me and Andrijko strolling the streets of Venice, with naught but each other's company to keep us sane...as well as a million pigeons and twice as many tourists.

Yesterday, Andrijko was mistaken for a girl for the fourth time, to my recollection. We were sitting at a table sipping some (relatively) cheap wine in a piazza, when a homely brown man tried to sell me flowers to give to the person across from me at the table.  I promptly responded, "Why would I need those? (points at Andrijko) That's a boy."  Though this does give further credence to Mama Semaniuk's calls to get Andrijko's hair cut.  It's okay Mama Irka, you have a new son to be proud of - I got my hair cut two days ago :)

I personally have minimal exposure to Europe in my adult years (Ukraine notwithstanding - Ukraine is a far cry from your typical European experience). After years of seeing Venice hyped up and displayed ad nauseam in movies and television, I only have one thing to say to those that have never been - it is 100 times better and cooler than the movies can even hope to show.  How do you explain to someone through moving pictures the experience of not seeing a single car in a metropolis teeming with human traffic, of major thoroughfares being 5 feet wide, of almost every single building being waterfront property?  To someone born and raised in relatively nascent and mostly uninteresting Canadian cities, Venice is truly awe-inspiring.  Don't get me wrong - Canada by far the number one place to live.  I would hate to live in Venice. A small apartment can run you up a million dollars, and according to Rick Steves' audio guides, your home will flood 100 times a year on average.  But much like your first time driving alone, your first time on a roller coaster, your first time at Mongos in Winnipeg - and possibly some "other things" you did for the first time - the first time you experience it, it is magnificent.... And maybe even overwhelming.