Someone asked us the other day, ‘Is Venice as romantic as people make it out to be?’ and we answered, ‘Well, Venice is a dream, except that in this case, the dream has come true.’ This unique masterpiece was built entirely on water and managed to survive the 21st century without cars. It has canals instead of streets, boats instead of buses (even the police and ambulances) and ornate bridges instead of subways. No city in the world possesses such an awesome line up of sights for visitors.
We arrived at the Venice airport on May 2nd and a 10-minute walk took us to the waterfront where we got into a vaperetto (waterbus) heading to St.Angelo – our bus (water) stop. We managed to find our way to the hotel after winding through narrow alleyways and bridges. It was a pleasant hotel with helpful staff and most importantly just few minutes away from most of the popular spots. We headed out for a pizza. And for all those who think Pizza Hut and Dominoes rule, you really haven’t had a pizza if you haven’t had it in Italy. The crust was so thin, the cheese so tasty, the olive oil flavouring so tantalising, ummmm…….it was unbelievably good.
We lazed around the colourful neighbourhood markets and quiet backwaters before heading to Shri Ganesh – the only Indian restaurant in Venice. We were seated alongside a small canal and could see gondolas (Venetian wooden boats) passing next to us while having tasty Indian khaana.
We had the next day to ourselves and went to the Jewish Ghetto…old time Venice…with many small shops selling masks, flowers and bakery items. Also lined were a number of coffee shops. We bought a blue feathered, stone lined mask and got back in time for our walking tour, which took us through St. Marks Basilica, Doges palace, Bridge of Sighs, Casanova and Amerigo Vespucci’s homes. It was an informative walk lasting for 2 hours after which we went up the tower of St. Marks Basilica and saw some stunning views of Venice from high up…came down to St. Mark’s square for an experience which can’t be described in words. Couples, pigeons, ice cream, live music…all set amidst the beautifully symmetrical St. Mark’s square.
The next day took us first to Murano, famous for it’s glass. Glass blowers have for centuries performed oral gymnastics to turn out those fantastic chandeliers & glassware that Victorian ladies used to prize so highly – ruby red, indigo blue – colours you name it, you have it. We saw some of the best jewellery, photo frames, and souvenirs – all made in glass - and could not resist buying a gold film embedded bright red glass frame. Next was Burano, famous as a centre of lace making, a craft that reached its pinnacle in the 18th century. We were rewarded with a charming little fishing village, far removed in spirit from the grandeur of Venice. Houses were in varied colours – sienna, robin’s-egg or cobalt blue, barn red, butterscotch, grass green…I bought a red, hand made, glass bead work, velvety shawl with peacocks on it. On our return to Venice, we undertook the most eagerly awaited journey of our holiday – a grand Gondola ride. An hour’s ride through the Grand and narrow channels of Venice listening to the sweet whistling music of our Gondolier, transported us to a different world from which we just did not want to return – a perfect way to celebrate our second anniversary.
We left for Florence the next morning. We will share our journey there and to Rome in the coming days…
