My Life is Not Average

---

Day 5 - Swiss Alps to Venice, Italy

Thursday 3^rd January 2013

A complete change in landscape and culture today, as we head to Venice. Be prepared for the breathtaking beauty of this amazing place – one that will not be forgotten!

Verona. Home to the Romeo and Juliet love story. As a treat on our way to Venice, we stopped here and we were in the city of love, with a fully grown man dressed as a …baby? Is this what passes for street entertainment round here? Where are the Covent Gardenesque jugglers and singers? Anyway, I digress. We pulled the coach into a car park and wandered down the road to the middle of town coming up against the smaller version of the coliseum, The Arena, with a few beautiful statues outside. The meeting point! Upon being told to meet here in 2 hours’ time (could have been 1.5 I’m not sure) we all split into mini tourist groups and made our way passed the beautiful shop fronts of Louis Vuitton, Gucci and gelato, winding our way through the small alleys and street market stalls and there it was. The gateway to probably one of the most photographed houses in Europe, if not the world. Proof being the many people tucked inside this small courtyard waiting to play ‘Juliet’ up on her balcony and to touch the bronze statue ‘for luck’. The padlocks on the gate symbolised lost loves and the bubble-gum wall moulded into heart shapes with messages left on the bricks.



After buying a beautiful piece of artwork, we wandered back down the cobbles and treated ourselves to a real Italian ice cream. Then as I had been christened Mary Poppins, Charlene, Casey, Michelle and I thought it only right to take a turn on the fairground carousel next to the small pond in the park. People started congregating at the meeting point and playing on the star, seeing how high they could climb it! With only a short time here we didn’t have time to go sightseeing that much so a short wander back to the coach and on our way to the true capital of love. Venice.







“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
that I shall say good night till it be morrow.”

---