I can’t believe it’s been four months since my sister, Kate, and I returned from Europe. Where did that time go? It only seems like yesterday we were enjoying our biggest adventure to date. Thank goodness for memories, because we are still in a constant state of reminiscence.
Venice – September 13, 2011.
You’ll either love or hate this timeless city. Admirers see only its dream-like qualities: quaint shops, old world alleys, gondola serenades, enchanting canals…detractors speak of the unintelligible layout, humidity, over-crowding, expensive shops, too many pigeons, and smelly canals. From our perspective, the ‘floating city’ of Venice made a most indelible impression. It’s one of those cities that you must see with your own eyes to believe. In fact, we didn’t just see Venice; we felt it with an intense passion.

Piazza San Marco ~ Campanile (Bell Tower)
St. Marks Square was described by Napoleon as the most beautiful dining room in Europe. He certainly got that right. Once surrounded by the beautiful Byzantine, Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque architecture, Kate and I began to understand the uniqueness of this truly fascinating place. Our only regret was not being able to view inside the historical monuments. Time was limited, and if we had known about online reservations, we could have bypassed the long queues.

The Jewel in the Crown ~ St. Marks Basilica

Lavish Mosaics and Marble Columns

Torre Dell'Orologio (Clock Tower)

The Clock represents the Signs of the Zodiac
Although this relatively small city can be navigated by foot, no trip to Venice would be complete without experiencing a classical gondola ride to get a better perspective of the charismatic canals. As soon as we began gliding through them, we knew we were in a one-of-a-kind place.

Classical Gondola ride

Every Canal is unique
There’s magic in listening to the baritone voices serenading passengers, and we marveled at the gondolier’s elegant techniques of rowing; especially watching them become contortionists as they bobbed under many enchanting bridges.

Window Shopping
Kate and I walked across many islands connected by stoned footbridges, and navigated our way through the labyrinth of quaint back-alleyways. Every turn led us down an exciting and picturesque path.
Between the humid, 35 degree Celsius heat and overcrowding, we found refuge in some expensive little boutiques. The Venetian masks and Murano glassware were to die for. Sigh! If only my luggage wasn’t already overweight. I settled for a tiny, beautifully handcrafted ‘i Pupi’ ceramic clown doll.
We ate pizza and drank Coke in a very busy, quaint restaurant. One recommendation before you leave this watery playground; you must taste the Cherry flavoured Gelati. It’s the best you’ll ever have in your life.

Rialto Bridge (Right)

Grand Canal
I forgot to tell you that getting lost in Venice is inevitable, even with a map. We just walked, and choose to turn left or right on absolutely nothing other than our first instinct. Luckily, we stumbled across the Rialto bridge. This was an amazing place to observe the many palaces, hotels, and the hub of activity on the Grand Canal.

Two famous Columns (centre) ~ Doges Palace (right)

Bay of San Marco (view through my eyes in photo above)













































































