Every time I pick a vacation spot, I brace myself; I can count on friends, acquaintances, or strangers who overhear me discussing my trip, telling me what’s wrong with my choice: too dangerous, too expensive, too hot/too cold, too dirty, too far away — ‘You’re going that far for only two weeks!?’ When I announced my decision to visit Venice for the first time, a cautionary chorus began to chant: “It’s smelly!” “You should have seen it 20 years ago….” “Ah…the canals are full of floating trash!” “It floods!” and, my favorite: “It’s sinking!” (said as if Venice, and yours truly, might disappear into the Venetian lagoon during my trip). I’m an open-minded traveler but I’ll admit when I boarded the plane to Venice, I was apprehensive — could Venice live up to my high expectations?

After reading many lukewarm reviews of Eau d’Italie’s new Baume du Doge, I braced myself for disappointment as I opened my sample vial of the perfume…

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