VENICE

A beautiful Venice sunrise from the Pont dell'Accademia - with pink water and sky.

rich·ness

ˈriCHnəs/ noun

1.

the state of existing in or containing plentiful quantities of something desirable.

2.

the quality of being pleasingly deep or strong.

awakening in a car park

leaving all my possessions
in the boot
shoes, clothes, tent, pack
hairbrush.

walking half an hour
there and back

cooking lentils and tomatoes
on a camp cooker
bent double
metal spoons
steam on the car windows

echoes

waking at 4 am
waking at 5am
waking at 6am to finally arise
and see the sun greet the day

awakening to freedom
stretch, imagine adventure
nothing to lose
breathing in the fresh air
watching the last star fade
drinking in the pink clouds
buzz at sunrise
on the bridge
over blue waters
fueling up my body
with love, air and
fresh food
absorbing everything
conversations, moments
of a daydream
this is real life
true wealth

We had very little, and yet we had so much.


The gold of every shop window was mine, if only for a moment.
The smell of baking bread was mine,
free to inhale.
The colours of the waters
and of the pink skies
were ours that morning.
As were the songs of the gondeliers
rising on the fresh wind.
We had spent thirty dollars in two days
but were the richest people in all of Venice.

*

Richness is a state of being.
A way to exist in the world.
It is immersive,
all around us,
always.


 

Venetian architecture - white stone with baroque decoration.
View from the Pont dell'Accademia in the morning in Venice - soft pastel light and blue water.
Gold shoes sparkling in a window.
A gondola tail and red and yellow bricola poles.
Red seats and small tables ready in the early morning outside St Mark's Basilica.
The façade of St Mark's Basilica - all rose and gold and lions and stars.
Venice at night - the streets are lit up with fairy lights
Me, Zoe, standing in St Mark's Square as the pastel light of morning illuminates the basilica.
The pink stone façade of the Doge's Palace in the Palazzo Ducale.
Gondolas bobbing in the water at sunrise with a view of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Pink lamp by the pink stone pillars of the Doge's Palace in Venice.
Gold glittery carnival mask in the form of St Mark's Basilica.
Pink stone architecture in Venice.
Blue canals and a small bridge with geranium flowerpots, a black gondola underneath, Venice.
The gondolier of Venice sings as he boats his passengers on blue canals.
Red and white bricola poles on the doorstep of the hotel by the canal.
Old gold doorbells in Venice.
Washing hanging in the streets of Venice.
Early morning gondola riders.
Diners think of what to order in a restaurant by the Grand Canal.
Rialto Bridge and blue and green bricoles by the Grand Canal.
A gondolier is singing in the morning sun.
Tables and lanterns are set out by the Grand Canal - with red cloths on them.
Window shopping in Venice - I spy luxurious red slippers gilt with gold.
Glitzy carnival costumes in a window in Venice.
White washing hangs from a line outside an apartment.
Venice market - fresh artichokes.
A gondola drifts in still waters.
The gondolier sings and his breath forms clouds on a cold morning in Venice.
A local's personal boat sits by the canal side under a bridge.
Gondolas sway at sunrise, San Giorgio Maggiore is lit up in the background.
Rialto Bridge is lit up at night and the lights reflect on the water - in black and white.
The sun peeks out over the Grand Canal, view from the Pont dell'Accademia.

Zoe Eccles