Venice

 

 can't help but look a little Asian, can i?

i was only mildly excited by this pigeon selecting me as a landing post.

mildly.

as we were riding the train from Innsbruck to Venice, i think i could tell you the exact moment the train crossed over from Austria to Italy. the houses began to look less Bavarian and more Italian. the snow-capped mountains gave way to hillsides dotted with vineyards. the signs began to be more readable, with their Italian script. the announcer on the train gave instructions in first Italian, then German, then English. (:

it felt so familiar, that Italian countryside. even though i had never been in that part of the country before, something about it resonated with me. 

this was the first time Nick and i had returned to Italy since getting married there almost three years ago. for our wedding and honeymoon, we were only there for two weeks. yet now, going back felt like a returning of sorts. almost like going home. this was the homeland of my husband's grandfather and all his ancestors. i felt connected to it somehow. it's almost that, by getting married there, and having such a defining moment in my life take place on Italian soil, i've left a piece of my heart there forever. and i feel whole and complete again by going back. 

it was so special.