VENICE IS NOT JUST GONDOLAS

 

June 30, 2008

Venice

VENICE IS NOT JUST GONDOLAS

We headed for Venice via the Austrian border, driving through spectacular and picturesque passes. From the bus, we viewed the villages below, clusters of red-roofed homes dotting the valley, some bordering the still lakes that reflected the blue sky above.

We stopped at an Autogrill in Bologna, a rest area that does not only provide WC but also coffee, books, newspapers, maps, music CDs, and food. As the ride to Venice would take us all day, we stopped at Egna, to have lunch at Café Central, where outside of the restaurant we sat under a pergola of grape vines. Here we had salad and our first gelato. With the taste of gelato still lingering on our palate, we drove to Tuscany, going through numerous tunnels before reaching Venice.

We reached Venice and with our two-day supply of clothes and other personal effects, we boarded a boat and cruised along colorfully painted houses, mansions, and other sorts of buildings. From the boat, we could already see the tower at St. Mark's Square.

In the evening, our tour director took us for a gondola ride. In 2008, each gondola ride would cost from E75 to E90 without musicians and E120 with musicians. Our tour director put Ron, me, and two other tour members in a gondola with musicians. While we navigated the canal, I requested for a song but I mixed my newly learned language phrases. Before the tour, we had to learn a few phrases of Deutch, French, and Italian. I said, "Señor, Sole Mio per favore." He sang it. Then I said, "Excelente! Merci!" Then he pointed to his shirt and said, "Mucho calor!" Oh, what a jumble!

After the gondola ride, with the other tour members, we had a belleni drink at St. Mark's Square.

The next day was a day packed with touring: the basilica, the museum, the Doge Palace, the prisons, and the Bridge of Sighs, where, before the execution, as legend goes, the prisoners, would take a last look at the glory of Venice and would sigh. 

And…there was shopping. Venice is noted for beautiful glass items like glass bead necklaces, glass decors, and masks—masks of all kinds, sizes, and designs.

The day was tiring but it was enjoyable. We returned to our hotel and retired with the experience of a magical Venice still lingering on my mind.