Venezia, Italia

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Venice- a place we've only heard wonders of, a place on magnificent beauty, and great visual appeal. This summer I went on a journey, one of my destinations being the ever spoken of Romantic Venice. How might one travel to the wonderful country of Italy and not visit this city is beyond question. My journey to Venice was aided by Contiki Holidays whom introduced us to the location, giving history, along with basic Italian lessons, and some help with orientation around the winding wonders of bridges, alleys, and squares. Contiki Holidays Tour Manager took us on an optional trip to a Glass blowing location right near the Piazza San Marco, which was amazing to see the various types of designs and products they make out of glass. In our spare time, a friend of mine who is from New Zealand, who I had met on the Contiki coach and I decided we wanted to do a little shopping and a little walking around to check out some of the piazzas and bridges, of what Venice had to offer. We went to the "Bridge of Sighs", and a quaint alley of shops. My favourite part of the trip to Venice was the Gondola ride! As our whole tour group met up at the docks, we dispersed into groups of 5 or 6, bought champaign and embarked on our Gondola ride. What an experience! I've only dreamed of going on the Gondolas in Venice, and how romantic it was, to finally see Venice from another perspective, from the river. The gondola ride was all it was made out to be, and MORE, as our driver gracefully paddled around the skinny winding rivers, under bridges, and passing other boats, it was fantastic. The buildings seem so high and are extremely gorgeous and diverse in their exterior, some have docks, and some just have windows, to imagine that people lived in these buildings or houses is amazing, to have to boat everywhere, as one of the main methods of transportation. As we passed underneath one bridge there was a pastor figure with a choir of boys singing, as if they were serenading our voyage. An overall unbelievable experience in Venezia, and I have Contiki to thank for the well-organized vacation and smooth transition from Country to Country throughout Europe. Contiki made my holiday stress-free, enjoyable, and very informative. Traveling Europe for my first time was a must with Contiki as they gave us a unique and safe way to travel around Europe with people from around the world in the same age class.

I left my heart in Venice.

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