When you fall in love, it doesn't happen because you planned it. It comes all of a sudden, taking you by surprise and embracing you with an unstoppable force. And then you're left mesmerized thinking that all that time before you had no idea you needed air to breathe and this person is now the air you can't live without.
When you fall in love with a city it's a bit different. You felt comfortably at home somewhere until you discover this whole new city that sweeps you off your feet. You soon realize this is your paradise home, the place you'd always want to be around. No money, no special people, just you and this city. That's what Venice is to me.
After having been to the Black Sea for a couple of times I was sure the seaside sceneries bored me. But when I saw the sea around Venice and all the canals, I was proven wrong. I fell in love truly, madly, deeply with its absolutely beautiful, old buildings, many lanterns, bridges, tiny streets and gondolas... the whole romantic vibe and then... the sea scent, the waves shining in the sun and crashing on the shore, the sound of boats passing by and hungry seagulls, so many colours and so much life! Even Italian seems in the right place in Venice. And I love their funny accent when they speak English. You can never get bored in a place with such a wide array of delicious food: pasta, pizza, all sorts of cheese and yummy spices, fresh seafood and all the food the whole world loves.
I used to worship Cluj and think it was the best place for me to be in, but without knowing, Venice became the place that makes me feel completely at home because it has everything I love in a city. Even more than Cluj.
I cried happy tears in Venice. I was on a boat wandering on the sea and watching the surroundings, breathless, in awe, in a state of utter bliss and I had to let it out somehow. I never understood why all my life I wanted to see Venice so much but in that very moment I knew. This city was calling me and it took years and years of waiting, but it was all worth it because in the end I found exactly what I was looking for in such an unexpected place.
Venice is and will always be my second home, the paradise where I'll find myself when I am lost, relax when I am stressed, create when inspiration seems so far away, my true love, my Norway.
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