Welcome to Armchair Travels, an invitation to travel around the world through the reportage illustration of Studio 1482. We have gathered art from our travels to share with you in the hopes that, while you can’t get out and see these places (yet), our experiences may bring some happiness and light to your day. Please check back as we will be posting new adventures weekly. Enjoy Venice, Italy. Margaret Hurst

A trip to Venice, Italy! I never thought I would find myself in the midst of the beautiful, amazing, unique city of Venice. But there I was. Of course, the first thing you notice is that you are surrounded by water/acqua. How incredible is that!

Come to find out that Venice is constructed atop of 118 small islands that are connected together by 400 bridges. Wow! I couldn’t get enough of the surrounding water even though I come from an island in the Caribbean Sea, St. Thomas, USVI. In St. Thomas the water surrounds the whole island. In Venice, the water is channeled throughout the city in canals. So beautiful!

I loved watching the gondoliers transporting and escorting people, mostly tourists, on the canals to everywhere. I later found out that the skill of rowing a gondola is called the Voga alla Veneta, translated to, standing up and facing forward. One of the regattas that the gondoliers participate in is called the Festa di San Marco, which takes place on April 25th. That is an event that I would love to see!

While there in Venice most of my time was spent in San Marco. I couldn’t believe how many pigeons showed up in the Square. People would feed them.

So there they were being fed, looked at and being photographed. It was unbelievable that feeding the pigeons wasn’t illegal. So fun to watch!

The following drawing is of the Basilica di San Marco. The architecture is beautiful and intriguing. And of course, so many tourists walking around and yes, photographers taking pictures of people performing in the Acqua Alta, not an uncommon event in Venice. Water pretty much everywhere.

I truly loved my visit to Venice and am hoping one day to go back there and revisit the gondolas and the gondoliers and the beautiful structures of this amazing city built on top of 118 little islands.

Thank you, Venice, Italy for one of the most memorable journeys I have been on.