My Gondola Filled with Love
The gondoliers were friendly, and easy to spot. Loitering near their boats, they were dressed in black-and-white-striped shirts, coordinating black pants, and straw hats that dangled with streaming red ribbons. They looked as if they had been waxed
with a fresh coat of machismo in order to match their highly veneered vessels. Big grins, projected chests, and open-hand gestures advertised their availability.
"Would you like to go for a tour?" a dark-haired Italian offered, as he stepped aside to reveal his prized possession.
I peered over the rails to inspect his slim glossy ride. It was much more impressive in person than literature or photos alone could have conveyed. "Maybe,?" I tried to sound reluctant, not wanting him to know that I simply had to cruise in a gondola before leaving the city.
I nudged my husband Chad to the side and tried to have a private conversation with
him, but there wasn't much I could do about the eavesdropping gondola man. I'm not usually a sucker for fairytale romance, but the experience really seemed magical. After agreeing to a price, the gondolier escorted us into his boat as if we were royalty, sitting us down upon a cushy miniature loveseat. Chad wrapped his arm around me, and I snuggled into his chest. I felt so happy, so loved. With a push against the stairway and a stroke of his oar, the gondolier sent us slowly floating down the canal. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of Venice. It was so peaceful here in the morning. The water splashed beneath the oar, trickling from the paddle into the canal before being submerged again with a plop. Plunge, drip, splish. The sounds were so calming. From side to side, the boat gently swayed with each row. I felt as though I were being rocked to sleep with a lullaby of pleasant rain. I listened drowsily, feeling my every muscle loosen. Peace caressed me. I relaxed for what seemed like hours, although I know that it was only minutes.
DONG, CLANG, BONG! I sat straight up and jolted to attention. The church bells were striking ten o'clock. Oh, how beautiful they were! Each tower emitted its own melody within the synchronized orchestra. Many of the tones were loud and deep, as they echoed through the city. A few were tinny, and others were eloquent. The repetitive chiming blended into a distinctive Venetian symphony. I felt like the music was calling me somewhere, drawing me into Venetian life. The sound gradually dissipated after each strike. Ding, clank, pinnggg. At last, the reverberations softly mingled and faded into the distance. The silence was haunting. Already, I missed the ringing bells.
Our gondola entered the main canal, and the hush was replaced with a conglomeration of sounds: the bustle of chatty tourists, the roar of speedboat engines, and the singing of gondola operators. How I loved to hear the booming Italian voices.
"Ti voglio bene . . . ," thrust its way into the air, over the lips of the Italian
serenaders, and into the souls of all who could hear. The romance was so thick that I couldn't help but breathe it in. At that moment, I had everything. I was young and in love, drifting through the canals of Venice with my best friend in celebration of our past decade together. This was exactly where I wanted to be. I inhaled deeply and tried to take a mental snapshot of the moment. This experience was MAGNIFICO!
All too soon, the storybook encounter came to an end. The Venetian clock struck midnight, so to speak, on this Cinderella story. We had returned to the starting point, and it was time to exit the boat. The gondolier helped us from our throne-like perch, and we returned to reality. Yet, I knew that I would never forget Venice and what she had given me. My gondola filled love still remains one of my dearest and most romantic memories.
--contributed by Laura Stone
Vanceburg, KY
Photo courtesy Laura Stone
Labels: Italy, romantic spots, Venice
A Trip to Canyons and Vortexes
I have just returned from an eight day bus tour of The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley. There is no doubt about it; the Canyons are truly an awesome sight to behold. Time, wind, fire and water have worked their magic to make these shines of nature places of overwhelming wonderment and stunning awe. However, as a writer of nine spiritual books I have to state, that if you do not bring your serenity, tranquility and sense of spirit with you, then you will not find it in the canyons. It is the same if you go into a house of worship, if you don’t bring God in with you, then you will not find God in the books and ceremonies.
We started our journey in Phoenix, Arizona; on Caravan Bus Tours. It was a new 2009 bus and the guide and bus driver were excellent. Apart from one hotel in Bryce, all the other nights the accommodation was congenial to our taste. The meals that were provided were very satisfying and overall the holiday represented sound value for the money. Our trip had 43 eager passengers and all were punctual at every stop and start. Every day there was a seat rotation so everyone met everyone else and had a variety of places to sit and enjoy the scenery.
I will not describe my feelings of being so close to the natural beauty of the canyons as I do not feel words can do them justice. They are places where one becomes enmeshed and enthralled by the etchings, figures and shapes in each rock that time and weather has carved. The landscape changes second by second as the light changes. One could spend a lifetime viewing and sensing the treasures each rock holds hidden, then momentarily revealed, just for the sake of the viewers gaze.
Traveling through the canyons is a personal quest where the imagination takes center stage. Each person will see differing aspects of complexion and style as they journey through more and more spectacular sights of amazement.
There is much made of spiritual vortexes and spiritual journeys that may appease the appetite for people thirsting for a quick spiritual fix. There is no doubt every rock holds some form of energy. Some of the energy is strong and some are quite subtle, however, as I have expressed earlier...If you are not aware of your soul and spirit when you enter the canyons, you will not find it by extracting the energy from a vortex. There is lot of mumbo jumbo doctrines in the New Age movements, just as there is in all religions. All contain some measures of truth but, as I always have said, the results of people’s life will speak for themselves. If you want to find out what construes truth from man- made be-lie-fs, then go ask a wise old rock in the canyons. The answer will satisfy your gut’s feelings but your intellect may have a difficult time understanding what it means.
We finished our trip in Las Vegas, so it could be stated that we came from the sublime of nature and ended at the ridiculousness of Sin City. I spent two enjoyable nights in Vegas and went to see Cirque du Soleil’s show “O" at the Bellagio
hotel. The show project earth, wind, fire and water in dream like sequences. After seeing the faces and shapes in the canyons, this show seemed to bring them to life. All in all, to sum up my trip, it was a super experience, for we do live in a wondrous world, filled with the magnificence and resplendence of nature. However, that said, wherever we are in the world, if we can sit still, close our eyes and silence our minds, we do not have to venture further than the reaches of our imagination to explore the grandeur and infinite glory of just being alive.
Michael Levy is a professional optimist, his philosophy of life is one of joyful optimism. He is an international radio host and the author of nine inspirational books. Michael's poetry and essays grace many web sites, newspapers, journals and
magazines throughout the world. He is a prominent speaker on health and wellness maintenance, stress eradication, wealth creation and development, authentic happiness and inspirational poetry.
http://www.pointoflife.com/
"Let Joy be your feelings, Love your attire, Peace your guide and you will discover
a mystical paradise here on earth."_ Michael Levy
Labels: Arizona, Nevada
My Hometown: Oxnard, California
Once an agricultural area, it is now an endless array of concrete and buildings covering some of the best farmland God has ever provided. To balance it out, California brought water to the desert for farmland.
--contributed by Bill
Labels: Movie Magic Contest, my Hometown
Filming Location: "Scarlett" in Charleston, South Carolina
Many years ago I took a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. On the way I was reading a book called
Scarlett, which was the sequel to
Gone With The Wind. When we got there, we discovered they were filming the movie of that book. It was so cool to be able to actually walk the streets featured in the book and see the characters in costume milling around, it felt like I had stepped back in time.
--contributed by lapaulaf
Labels: Movie Magic Contest
My Hometown: Staunton, Virginia
Oh, how you should see the streets of laid red clay bricks mixed with cobble stone that stretches from one end of town to the other. At the far end of a narrow street, buildings of old stand tall looking in the direction of one solitary building cut into the embankment of a cliff-- its name is the General Jackson Hotel. Its been there even before my great grandfather took his first breath, with brilliant crystal lights dangling from the creamy ceiling, reflecting evening light into glorious rainbows. My movie would begin in this very setting with the lovely couples sitting down at white covered tables just big enough for the two to sit comfortably, the staff coming to serve them a early dinner in old custom wears of the hotels' lineage, roasts all warm with steam rising from the silver covered dishes on tea tables. The room is silent other that a few mere I love you's and the sounds of the forks finding the plates.
After dinner the young couples would find themselves going to a farm called Merdale Meadows just fifteen miles away. There they would meet up with the old man who runs the horse trail rides. Each horse is looked over carefully for temperament as he shows each person to their "old faithful." He starts off slow up a small bank-- some of the women look nervously downward holding tight to the saddle's horn, but the ride through rivers and streams across meadows and tree-filled woods with leaves falling like snow was worth it alone, but at the end of their journey, just before night dims the last light in the sky, they reach their destination-- a beautiful meadow more beautiful than all others. They dismount, wrapping the reins to a downed tree. They all stay still and hushed, but why one may ask. As night comes closer, the couples sit in the grass atop blankets-- soon the moons shines full and bright as a white sun blazing, a blue shadow to each tree. A sound comes slow at first but then louder more pronounced a nose shows from a bush. A small female fawn appears still with spots-- her mother is close grazing on the last honeysuckle of the season. The couples watch as more deer appear. Soon the group of people look on as
they are sharing the field with a heard of wild deer, a fawn skips and jumps just a little too far from mother and ends up in front of a women snuggled up to her husband. She reaches out to touch the nose of the fawn just as the tips of her
fingers touch the fawn's soft fur. The fawn runs back to mom to nurse and the group "awws" at the calming sight a small rabbit comes into view, as does a owl nestled up top an old branch. As he flies down to seek out a field mouse, the branch falls-- the large, dark buck perks his ears, raising his large graceful neck to look around. Something startles him and he runs the herd away-- jumping a low fence, the fawns squeeze through a broken fence wire hole.
The group stands to leave, and as they find there way back down the trail they had taken, each taken in the mystical power this wood still holds. When they reach the bottom they find themselves saying goodbye to the old man, thanking him for the most memorable time each had ever had. Each are given a token of their trip-- a book called
The Book of Merdale. and then the couples leave. Going back to the hotel they go to their rooms with a glass of wine, and as the lights of the room dim the lovebirds go to the fire places and snuggle together on the couches-- the women kiss there love's cheek as they in return kiss there brows, and and a sigh of complete content ends the perfect afternoon in Staunton, Virginia.
-- contributed by Pararu Quamato
Labels: Movie Magic Contest, my Hometown
Filming Location: Smithville, Texas
Brad Pitt and Sean Penn had already filmed their final scene for
Tree of Life and Sandra Bullock's visit was a distant memory by the time I had the opportunity to drive past Smithville, Texas, but that didn't stop me from enjoying my brief stay in the cozy community.
Just like in
Hope Floats, Smithville is small town America at its best, dotted with buildings that seem to welcome you back to the slower pace of the past. Any any movie fan planning on a visit, be sure to grab a bite to eat at Pocket's Grille-- good food and a chance to see some
Hope Floats memorabilia on display!
-- contributed by Gary
Labels: Movie Magic Contest
My Hometown: Las Vegas and Tule Springs, Nevada
When people think of Las Vegas, Nevada, they think of the strip, drinking and gambling. Doesn't sound so romantic right? I mean, half the people that do come here are single and are looking for a 'good time' which involves a one night stand with a stranger. And that has to be the FARTHEST thing from romantic. I've lived here my whole life, so I see things differently then most. Aside from the strip and the hot, hot desert, there is a little place near the mountains, call Tule Springs. It's our state's National Park. Not many people visit there, which makes it quite nice and quiet. There's fields and fields of grass and barns full of animals and you can even go horse back riding. There's benches for picnics and wishing wells for you to throw pennies. There's a bunch of trees for shade and a beautiful meadow you can walk through. It's the states largest park, so the possibilities are endless. If you
and your hubby want to have a romantic getaway for free that's peace and quiet, this is definitely the place to go!
--contributed by Alyssa
Labels: Movie Magic Contest, my Hometown
