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Published: November 29th 2005
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For two months prior I had been planning a trip to Venice as a surprise for Liani's 31st birthday. I managed to keep it a secret til about two weeks prior when I couldnt hold it in anymore! Needless to say she was extremly excited about visiting Venice - a place she hadnt seen on her past travels.
The night before I had organised a few of our friends to meet for a drink which turned into quite a long night considering we had to get up at 3am and catch a cab to the airport! So with 1hrs sleep we headed off to Gatwick and caught our flight to Venice Marco Polo. As Venice is off the mainland we were herded into a taxi boat for the 70min trip to the island. Venice is made up of 171 small islands, most of them uninhabited. I managed to be awake while flying over Venice which was amazing to see from the air. There are wooden beams positioned in the water outlining a "water highway" for the boats to travel up and down.
As soon as we stepped off the boat I gained an appreciation of the European weather - it was
freezing and within minutes small snowflakes started falling from the sky... very beautiful, as it was my first experience of snow over here.
We checked our luggage into Hotel Cavaletto a canal side hotel and ventured off to find something to eat. As we were sitting in a cosy italian trattoria, enjoying a nice italian red, the snow began falling heavily which looked spectacular.
At 2pm we checked in to our room and quickly fell asleep to catch up on the night before! That night we wandered through the streets until finally settling on a quaint little resturant for an 11pm dinner! The waiter was a little tired and annoyed we didnt speak fluent Venetian, so we ordered and waited. Another waiter turned up with our wine greeting me with buonasera which I reciprocated but as Liani didnt know what he was saying and therefore didnt respond, he glared at her until she greeted him!! I somehow managed to order a pasta dish with bacon which obviously I couldnt eat! So I tried explaining it was my fault but I couldnt eat the food! In his defence he came back with the same dish minus the bacon which we quickly
finished and got out of there! The vibe there was a little too intense for us on our first night in Venice! As the Basicilica bells chimed 12 midnight, Liani turned 31. It was a lovely walk back to the hotel where she couldnt wait and opened her presents.
It rained all night and continued throughout the next day, so we found a nice little cafe and had beautiful italian coffee. We did manage to get out and about and found a fantastic place to eat that night. One of our waiter's there had lived in Melbourne and worked on the QE2 so we had a chat about living abroad. He also told me that Venetian is a dialect of Italian and on the whole quite a different language. I was wondering why I was unable to pick up on some of the conversations around me considering I had studied basic Italian.
On advice from our waiter the night before, we followed our map and walked around San Marco to Rialto Bridge and over into San Paulo and back over La Accadamia Bridge to San Marco Square. Venice streets are extremely small, cobble stone thoroughfares and the signage is fairly
poor to say the least! We managed to get lost quite easily and ended up finishing our tour in the dark! The shopping districts are centred around the main tourist areas of San Marco and Rialto. Many shops are geared toward the tourist dollar, but off the beaten track there are some lovely italian shops. Every second shop sells hand made masks - courtesy of Carnivale which happens in Venice every year. The masks are incredibly detailed and beautiful - ideal for a masquerade party or as a souvenir. The small island of Murano is world renowned for its glass blowing and making and Burano is the place for textiles and lace. We didnt get out to either island, but there is enough of the local industry to see on the main island!! There are no cars at all on the islands. Transport on Venice is either by foot or the famous gondola. Walking through the tiny streets you frequently hear the gondola drivers singing or shouting out to one another. It is all very magical. Although at this time of year, I am sure working on the water is not as nice as in summer!
Prior to catching our
flights home, I slipped into St Mark's Basicilica to view the interior of the church. It is famous for its mosaic floor and ceilings. The church itself is quite dark and eerie. The floor is marbelled mosaic. Its undullating surface leads you from confessionals, pews and finally to a spectacular alter. Looking up you see the laboursome gold and colored mosiacs depicting the life of christ. Its absolutely beautiful and so serene. Entrance is free so that everyone who comes to Venice can enjoy the work of the artists.
I am so grateful to have seen Venice. Its a spectacular city on a lagoon, with a very long history of fighting the rising tides of the sea. Venetians are extremely friendly and welcoming to the influx of visitors the city attracts. Its a difficult city to get around when it rains due to the large amount of marble walkways and the fact that you have no choice but to walk or ride the gondala's. But despite the difficulty with the weather, it is a truley enjoyable, romantic and memorable city to visit.
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