I love neon

As I walked home last night I passed by a section of town famous for its cafes and bars and restaurants.  It is Via Veneto and if you have ever seen La Dolce Vita you should recognize it as the place where they all hung out.  It is fun for me for three reasons:  one, it is actually a lovely walk, with wide sidewalks and trees and lovely shops with lovely windows.  Two, the items in those lovely shops are way beyond anything I could ever afford so it is pretty safe for me to window shop.  Yes, those are beautiful shoes but $600?  I don't think so.  Finally, I love neon and the neon is beautiful.  I'm not sure what it is about neon but the quality of light is just different.  I mean it doesn't really light up anything but it really catches the eye.  And if the sign is old you can even hear it hum.  Plus the light can be multi-sensory; a red neon light isn't really giving off much heat but it looks and feels so warm like a fire on a cold, winter's evening and a blue light can be as cool and refreshing as lemon gelato on a warm afternoon.  Perhaps it is because of growing up near Route 66 and all its neon signs-neon bringing back warm and fuzzy childhood memories? Then there is the way it reflects, off the buildings, off the backsplash, off the wet pavement.  It is an unobtrusive light that adds magic to a place that LED lights or colored lights just can't accomplish.