As I try to get into a rhythm with this blog, I'm finding that it's easier for me to first pick the photos that I want to feature and then let the theme emerge from there. For this post, the theme became immediately apparent as I was clearly OBSESSED with the gorgeous streets, narrow alleys and peek-a-boo passageways in Venice. (Although there were a few narrow canals that caught my eye, too.)

My daughter has book about Venice that describes the city as "wedded to the water", and indeed it is, but over and over again, it was the street scenes that struck me as the most beautiful.

I'm also quite partial to all those beautiful arched passageways that beckon one to explore further.

And, yes, the canals are incredible and are what make Venice, Venice, and it's the narrow ones that I'm particularly drawn to.

But I'll pick the pavement over the water any day. Venice, give me all your tiny streets. I want to wander down every last one of them.

*Excuse me while I go see what's down that little calle ...*

If I'm being honest, there's not a lot I want to write about this part of the Venetian Magic series, because I hope the photos of this beautiful place speak for themselves. Legend has it that the inhabitants of Burano, a tiny island in the Venetian lagoon, started painting their homes bright colors to alert sailors to their proximity to land in poor weather conditions (or, in less generous legends, while said sailors were ever-so-slightly impaired). The tradition has continued to present day (thankfully) and now, it serves as a magical little spot that I like to think is happiest place on Earth (stand aside, Disney). I mean, how can you not smile when you see all those colorful facades?

I don't actually know if these colors necessarily equate to cheerful residents, but I will say that they are incredibly unfazed by the crazy tourists who run around their island, snapping photos of every building and snooping on their daily business. And yes, I count myself as one of those crazies.

Now there's nothing more integral to that daily routine than hanging out the wash, and the facades of Burano make that simple, every day act, beautiful.

For every bright and shocking hue on Burano, you can find balance with something more subtle, and for every perfect facade, there are examples of beauty in the imperfection.