An early morning commute results in a bit of light traffic as several gondolas are pictured entering a canal in Venice. The view IS magical. It was almost as if this photo captured my attention with the goal to someday become a work of art that, one day, colorfully decorates the plainness a typical white museum wall. It is an image with a most cheerful color palette meant to cause great smiles within all passers-by who happen to give it a glance. This is: The Essence of Venice. If given the opportunity to visit, you can’t help but smile at all of the colorful buildings set on top of the 118 islands and the many waterways which comprise the city of Venice. The tiny islands are connected by approximately 400 small walking bridges (often filled with locals and visitors alike). And, narrow canals found within this unique natural landscape, provide a pathway for the passage of flat bottomed narrow gondolas that travel back and forth throughout Venice’s many canals. This photo offers a high illumination of the essence of Venice AND certainly puts a different spin on a morning commute. By artfully blending Venice’s colorful buildings AND their beautiful reflections over serene canal waters, this incredibly scenery makes this city home to (in my humble opinion) the single MOST BEAUTIFUL landscape of all of the UNESCO world heritage sites. The essence of Venice IS, therefore, the epitome of an artist’s perfect composition. In fact, I wouldn’t mind being stuck in traffic every single morning AS long as my view IS equally as magical as the essence of Venice that has been captured in this photo.