Venetian glass

by Keisuke Takada
(Tokyo)

My first trip abroad was to Italy. It was an impulsive act. Watching television images of Venice one day, I went to a travel agency the next day. I saved money to buy a motorcycle, but I spent all of my deposit for traveling.

I have a tendency to focus on my impulse sometimes. But in many cases it did not produce a regret. Bold decisions usually leave a good aftertaste.

As an ordinary traveler, I visited famous places in Milan, Florence, and Rome. But my most memorable spot was Venice.

I could not understand why it was located in such an inconvenient ground. But I could easily understand it was the most beautiful city in the world. I felt that the flow of history stopped in Venice. There were no cars, and riding a bicycle was prohibited by law.

I visited a Venetian glass factory and saw the great work of craftsmen. And I thought that if it was 600 or 700 years ago, they could not go anywhere else. To monopolize the technique of making Venetian glass, they had been restricted to go abroad. If they escaped abroad, they would be killed. But now, of course, there is no such a policy in Venice.

I bought a Venetian glass on impulse. It gave me no regret.