Welcome back to TBA live posts! This feels so good to get back in the Saddle and with over 6000 new images and countless new stories I am thrilled to share with all of you.
I urge you all to click the images below and see them in full resolution. Juliet and I worked like starving artists (we are) to capture the photos along this journey.
Stay tuned for big new changes to the TBA site and I look forward to all your comments and my still very jet-lagged responses.
The first Venice light
of the day spotted a
strange cameraman
waiting to work
along the canals once plied
by men of vigor
Italians posing is
much more wanted than is an
invasion of privacy
cruise ship lovers will
pay any price for the company of
talented douchebags
little johnny boat
trolling the back canals and
offering candy
along our paddle
we saw the sunken dreams
of a man in pain
Mike’s memory was
never far even in the back alleys
of Venetian bars
colorful houses
could not hide the colorless
souls of their owners
About Michael Housewright
amazing! my favorite day of the week and those pictures are amazing!
Thank you so much Beverly!
Fabulous!
Thanks Susie, I am trying to get back in the saddle. What did you mean yesterday by the “view all” thing? I may still be too foggy to grasp this
See the notifications that we are IMing on? On the right hand corner there is a “view all” prompt. Now you can click through all of them. WP is not done and is adding other features in coming weeks…
finally! This is huge! Susie, my blog will not leave WP hosting for now, it will be linked directly from my new site. We are devising a plan not to lose all of this valuable material and thank you as always for your input!
Absolutely gorgeous pictures!
I’ve wanted to go to Venice for ages now and this has only inspired me more to start saving!
Beautiful!
x
It is well worth it!
It is well worth it! If you guy you should stay near the north part of the island and you will have peace and and amazing back streets to yourself
Well I’m going to Rome in October so I might just have to stay a bit longer!
Thanks for the advice, will definitely take it!
Rome is my other home so if you would like any info please let me know. If you are into food I very strongly endorse http://www.parlafood.com Katie Parla is one of the best in the business on food and travel writing and she lives in Rome. There will be at least 3 posts on Rome in the next 6-8 weeks on my site. Cheers!
The coloring in those photos is fantastic.
Vanessa! We are seeing you soon right?
Beautiful photos – love the pops of color – thanks for sharing:)
welcome to TBA..this is what we do on Sundays. I have been in Italy all of May so now we will be back to normal (pretty soon) cheers!
Such an amazing trip!
Juliet,
The trip was amazing because you provided it. You are my patron and my dearest friend on the earth. The depths of gratitude I have for you I can honestly say I have for nothing else in the universe. Thank you for this and I look forward to so many more with you.
My love always,
Michael
Once more, a big welcome home to you. I can imagine it will be a little time before you have fully adjusted, but hopefully going through photos and reliving those moments will help ease the transition back to normalcy. When I was younger and would come home after mission trips, I can always remember feeling the “culture” shock; and usually I had only gone so far as Mexico! You’ll be alright, my friend.
I’m sensing a theme here . . . This area was perhaps not one of the finer areas you visited? Colorless souls. Talented, um . . . well, the pictures are splendid, anyway. you and Juliet’s handiwork (literally) certainly paid off. I love the last one.
Happy Sunday to you, Michael!
Actually Cara,
Venice was simply amazing. It is one of those places where the dichotomy of real and soulful mingle effortless with the vacuous and greedy. When I actually detail my story in Venice it will reveal itself to be one of the most amazing places and experiences I have ever had in Italy. Today was much more about pretty pictures hiding something not so apparently wretched. Italy is a stage so grand for the duality of man that my opinions may likely come off a bit polarizing and could possibly muddle the true essence of humanity I encountered every single day in Italy. No place on the earth so obviously brings me joy, pain, misery, and success over the course of a few short hours and days. I truly lived in 25 days what I can say I had not lived the prior 9 months of my life. Yes, the shock of being home is always that what I love about home is simply the place where I am with my wife and the ease of function and the misery that the human condition in 21st century America is so very glaring and occluding the faces of beauty. Today may not have painted the whole picture of Venice and that is why indeed I have so much more to say. The pictures of Italy remind me quickly of how complex the planet is and how difficult and at the same time brilliant we are as a species. Travel is the most humbling thing I do and the very thing that jerks me by the neck from ivory tower to show me how small I am and how frail. In order to travel I must at least for small moments shelve my introspection in order to exist only to have it return in ways I could never predict in my work. Thanks so much for the welcome home Cara and for the wonderful support over these months.
Cheers!
Michael
I can understand what you say . . . it’s almost like how one feels entitled or permitted to speak in less than flattering sentiments about their family, only because they understand that, above all else, they would take a bullet for any one of them. Italy is your family.
Hoping you had a relaxing Sunday, friend.
I think that is pretty accurate Cara!
Feel free to say: “Nope. Nope. Nope. That wasn’t it at all.”
Cara,
Italy is more like my own soul than a relative I think, and that is why I am so prone to criticism.I see its vast potential and natural beauty and sometimes the extraneous (actually often) get in the way and send the whole thing into a shit spiral…
Sounds messy . . .
Yes, I think I understand.
It is so messy. Life is a big sloppy mess and in the moments when I can find a little clean flooring I try my best to take advantage of it. This is why I love this blog, I can fire away this kind of melancholic banter and no one will ask for their subscription money back
I love the photos. And that last poem was haunting….
thank you! I am so glad to see you are still here following. Yes, Venice can be haunting (that was actually the island of Burano which is haunting indeed)
Your pictures are really quite stunning. The first is among the best images of this kind I have seen. Well done, and yeah, the b&w and sentiment are appreciated.
Mike, you know what I love about that? That was the very first photo I took on the whole trip and is easily one of the top 5 out of the 6000 images I captured. I could have just shot that one and came home…yeah right!
Glad you enjoyed the tribute. I will send you the color shots too of that wicked door
The way you talk about my country is very interesting for me! And of course I am always happy when someone falls in love with Venice! Your pictures are very nice
This of course was just the beginning. I have so many stories and images to share and people to introduce. This was an amazing trip indeed
Welcome home
these are so truly inspired that I can’t pick a favorite.
Thanks Kim. So exciting to be back in the game.
Spectacular photos! The colors are so brilliant and everything so clear. Love the haiku, as well!
I don’t know if it’s something on your end or mine, but I had to re-subscribe to your blog in order to leave this comment. ???
That’s weird Charles. Nothing new on my end. Lots of bugs I think on WP in their updates
Never mind! The problem was on my end. Found it!
Awesome! And that Venetian bar does scream Mike
thanks for this and I am so happy to see you back here on TBA!
Happy to have you back as well
thank you..please let me know if there is blog of yours I missed that I must see
Inspired photos indeed! Welcome home! Loved each and every one… and the haikus too
Deb,
so glad to see you! When are we getting coffee? I need to hear what is happening in your world
Wonderful, just wonderful! Your pictures have everything, subtlety, wit, exuberance, tenderness… brilliant!
Thank you Lois! Those are some really sweet words to return home to. Cheers to you!
Welcome back! Your photos are beautiful – the colours so bright and vivid. I look forward to seeing more.
thanks Colline! I am so happy to see you again here on the blog
Welcome back! Although we enjoyed the guests, we missed you.
I like the first one because of the arch reflected in the water, making a sort of “eye”. I love the way that Venetian bridges do that. Asian ones probably do too, but I haven’t seen those.
Lady Marilyn,
It is so great to see you and I am glad you enjoyed the guest posts. These wonderful bloggers did a great job and perhaps may have picked up a few new followers. It is good to be back!
WELCOME BACK! Hope you had a wonderful time. Love the photos you posted here.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
thank you my friend..nice to be home!
Welcome back! Sounds like the trip was awesome and we all get to benefit from your experiences! Thank you SO much for letting me guest blog, it was fun
It was my pleasure indeed and I look forward to more of your work.
Stunning! So very elegant.
Thank you and thanks for stopping over after I gave you a lecture on eggs..I can be very pedantic at times without intending to be
No problem and it was no lecture at all. I see it as foodies helping each other out.
let me know how the eggs go
Beautiful shots!
Thanks! It will be slow going getting back into the swing of things with the jet lag and the new website work…thanks for staying with me
Really … new website? Has it launched?
No, that is why I will be slammed. I am attending a travel blogger conference on June 14 and I must have it ready by then.
I wanted to launch before I left for Italy but decided it prudent to wait till I got home
Good luck and have fun! Can’t wait to see the new site.
me too
Thank you!
Oh they are so beautiful shot after shot of magnificent textures and colours
beautiful haikus to give them company..
Soma, thank you and so good to see you again here
Venice is not what it used to be, but I love your Haikus
.
Venice is just as crazy as I remember it was 20 years ago. This time though I found some quiet spaces among the chaos
Love little johnny boat, with his smiley face. More to come? Wonderful.
I am glad you enjoyed it, and yes there is much more to come
Note to Guat self: when catching up with blogs start with the one that says I’m Back … live TBA posts … you know, so there is no confusion
Great pics!
ha! yeah, well the older posts had so few views they were almost like new ones
oh man! what a rich and colorful feast for the eyes! I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!! sigh… Venice, I will see you someday! I am SO jealous!!!!
you would love the parts away from the insanity and I will be posting much more on Venice coming soon
Awesome photographs, I love the colour and decaying decadence of Venice, some consider it a ‘theme park’ but it is one of my favourite places to visit in Italy. I’m so excited that you were able to find some quiet places in Venice, they are rare and magical but oh so worth it
BTW, welcome back and thank you for opening my eyes to many other wonderful bloggers during your absence.
you are very welcome! Thank you so much for staying with us all while I was out of the country
Welcome home, Michael. You have some beautiful pictures here.
thank you Shimon! I am slowly getting back into the groove!
Very striking words and stunning images. Welcome back, Michael!
thank you my friend! Juliet is ready for those flowers
Wow! Wow! Wow! Just stunning pictures, really! Welcome back!
thank you very much…I am finally starting to feel like me
Lovely images and ‘ku!
thank you Ryan! How did your posts go while I was away?
Its me Christi B… my comp will not let me remove the freaking N. lol. wth. oh well…
Love the photos TBA’s
Always happy you are here CB!