A Wonderful Day in Venice..

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It was the 3rd day of our honeymoon. It was a hot day when we reached Mestre from Rome. Only 11 am and with the whole day in hand, Siam & I spent no time at all to catch the coach to Venice. Only 5 minutes went by, and I could just feel the change in air that was coming through the open windows. I opened my eyes and looked out-the barely crowded road we were on passed through the middle of the sea. Boats were anchored, some were being driven by Venetian men wearing typical hats, white sea gulls were flying above water, small waves were mirroring a spackling reflection of the very bright and clear sky above… it looked just like a panoramic picture out of the calendar.
It was no more than a 20 minutes drive from Mestre to Venice. It was just the right time and weather for a cool, relaxing lunch. We started walking through the narrow bridges into Venice in search of food. I don’t know exactly what we were looking for as eating places are abundant in Venice. We didn’t have to go 2 paces to find a restaurant of café.. Anyways, we started walking and lunch got pretty delayed as the 2 of us were halting every few steps to take a picture. Every worn out Venetian house, every old bridge, every narrow turn, the tiniest of alleys, the merest bends of not so clean canals- all seemed to have spread an enchantment.. the oldness of Venice created an ambiance all around – which I had never experienced before, so it felt worth to delay lunch in exchange of taking pictures of everything that we could look at.
We were not walking without any direction though. Siam is my exact opposite and is actually very good at reading maps. A map is the first thing he buys whenever we go someplace new and Venice was no exception. We were trying to find our way to St. Marco’s square and on the way, a small bar that also served cool pasta and salad looked so appealing that we just couldn’t delay lunch anymore. It was an empty bar being tended by a young college going lad (I forgot his name). We were the only customers and the lad served excellent pasta with extra cheese and of course, complementary Italian breads. Siam and I lazed on the sofa- feeding each other off our forks and drinking from the same straw.
It was past noon and the weather had started to cool down. On our way to Piazza San Marco, we crossed the Grand Canal, lots and lots of Murano glass shops, thousands of cafes and countless tiny bridges. People were buzzing around- eating at cafes, taking Gondola rides, buying souvenirs and taking pictures all around. It was as if whole Venice was smiling.. I couldn’t stop myself and bought 2 Murano glass gift sets for my mother and mother-in- law. Around 4 pm,( we still had not reached the Piazza) we took a Gondola ride- we went through very narrow canals, with very old houses on either side of the canal and under many tiny bridges. The charge was 20 Euro a person.
In the mean time, we entered a church. There are churches after every few bends of the narrow roads. The church was plain and simple, but still had a collection of paintings and sculptures. We bought some Mc. Donalds for afternoon snacks and licked on yummy gelato as we moved forward. When we reached Piazza St. Marco, it was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was cool and the breeze that came from the water side was soothing. The Piazza was filled with pigeons and we fed them a few Mc. Donald fries. There was a very newlywed couple who came to take wedding pictures.
We spent the afternoon sitting on the steps beside water. We ate Mc. Donalds and fed little bits to pigeons. The water was mirroring the blue of the sky, sea gulls were flying not very far away. Gondolas were anchored on the bank. Waves were splashing water on our feet, the breeze was messing up our hair. There was a faint sound of waves splashing on the sides of the wooden Gondolas. I loved every second of it.
It was almost time for sunset when we started to head back. The surrounding was changing rapidly. Lights were peeping from the windows, from the cafes and from the gondolas. The reflection on the water was very romantic. After a while, we took a water ferry ride- to see different islands of Venice. the night breeze was cooling on our flushed skin. The water was sparkling, and the grand houses (most were hotels inside) on the banks looked gorgeous. Lamps were lit on the cafes lining the banks and people were sitting in groups having delicious dinner of sea food.
The ferry dropped us near the point where we could catch a coach back to Mestre. The day had come to an end and we were damn tired. As we went back, Siam and I were leaning on each other’s shoulder and were sending thanks to Almighty for blessing us with such a wonderful day in our life .

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Comments

[david knowles]

interesting post
A well written account of your travels through Venice it looks like you had a great holiday/ honeymoon http://theknowledgeangel.com/

[Natasha Sabrin Khan]

Thanks
Thanks.. yes I had a lovely honeymoon and I look forward to celebrating one of my anniversaries over there sometime in future inshallah :)