Venice joy

Venice In order to get there, there is this long stretch of road that is sitting on the ocean, for there is nothing but water both sides of the road. It is quite long and you wonder if it will take you somewhere. The hotel was placed looking out to one of the canals and we were somewhat preoccupied with the safety of our accommodation as we had never been in a place like it. We decided it was time to wonder off and experience the Venice adventure.

Luisita, my friend was fearless when it came to experiencing new cities, I was to find her navigation skills very useful at a later date. I do not have a good sense of direction and it would have been impossible for me to return to the hotel after the never-ending labyrinth of passageways, bridges and narrow alleys.

We navigated our way into Plaza San Marcos. Boy was it grand! I was amazed, I found that people were very handsome, both men and women were beautiful. They were sitting in terraced cafes, monkey promenading, eating ice cream and the children playing carelessly. The pigeons were flying everywhere, the gondolas going up and down the canal as the sun shown splendidly. It gave a surreal effect that one could only sigh and feel the gratifying effect of the surroundings.

Being young ourselves, we fitted well with the rest of the beautiful ambiance around us. Youth provided us with the necessary equipment to enjoy life and this unique holiday which we had never imagined even in our wildest dreams. We looked, observed and laughed. We took pictures, we hugged each other and we bough an ice cream, it costs us several millions Lira, but who cares. We returned to the hotel much later and we were told off for disappearing. We started bragging about San Marcos Square as if we were tourist guide.

There was an Australian young man in our group that was fascinated by my child like behaviour. He was about 26 and was much better educated as he was doing his European tour. He took pictures of me all the time. He must have more than a thousand if he developed them all.

That evening we were taken by gondola to a concert that was taking place on a large ship. ( Italians are very good singers)The gondolas were placed in a circle around the ship, and the music started.( here the flash camera of my Australian friend never stopped flashing). There were lights on the ship and we were lucky in our positioning, for we could see clearly the handsome tenor and the orchestra.

The background was the city lights, the silence took hold of the night. The waves rocked us in our gondola and tears were brought to our eyes. The suspense was broken as we heard the beautiful voice of the tenor singing at the top of his lungs Eduardo Di Capua “Oh Sole Mio” His notes touched our souls and left us with an unforgettable memory. This occasion is one I have cherished in my list of favourites.

The next day time to see more unimportant things. A glass making factory. Tour operators enhance there wages by offering this sort of visits. A commission is usually paid on sales. I was more fascinated by the blowing techniques in shaping glass into different forms than any thing else, just the same I did buy my sister Tina a neck less of beautiful blue glassed beads. I think she still has it.

From there we visited San Marcos Square and to the Basilica and its Byzantine heritage, the Doge's Palace and its adjoining prisons.

The palace is one the most sumptuous palaces in the world. After all Venice enjoyed the virtues of the first republic for 1070 years, until Napoleon entered the city in 1797. We were told about important and famous people nee in Venice like Marco Polo. We enjoyed tales of this legendary globe-trotting Venetian. Casanova and his lust for life was also mentioned in our illustration of Venice life.

The mask festivities just before lent used to last for six months in order to keep the anonymity, indiscretions and gay festivities that wearing a mask provided for the Venicians. The Bovolo (snail in Italian) staircase impressed me too , it was built for wealthy Venetian at a time when many Venetians still travelled around the city on horse-back. The elaborate staircase enabled the wealthy nobleman to ride his horse up to his private apartments within his palace.What about that for modernization!! After an exhausting morning we finished the tour near the Rialto Bridge, and were taken to a Restaurante Italiano for Spaghetti Bolognaise. Huge servings were provided and we devoured everything.

Time to retire to the hotel for a rest and prepare for an early rise to travel to our next destination Pisa.

Travelling by coach in this speedy tours has one draw back and that is the hours one has to spend sitting and seeing things from afar.

It is not unusual to travel for six and seven hour in a day and sometimes more.We arrived at Pisa in mid-morning and we were allowed to climb to the top before we could eat our packed lunch and continue to Florence.

Naturally we were excited and ventured into climbing the leaning Pisa in order to take the precious pictures that we would show everyone in our return. I did not notice the leaning effect once I was up there.