Venice – The City of Romance

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At 3:30 P.M we arrived at Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia (Venice Railway station) from Pisa. We stepped out of the station and stood spell bounded by the view in front of us. We were greeted with a “Golden Hour” view of the Grand Canal. It was like stepping into an adventure land. The setting was just perfect and looked like a movie set. You might have seen Venice in countless photographs, movies and even visited the city virtually in a fancy game (I am talking about Assassin’s Creed… love that game!). Let me tell you, all of those experiences combined are nothing compared to the real thrill that you experience just after setting foot in Venice.

Slowly, we started walking towards our hotel, Hotel Eden. We meandered through the narrow busy streets, occasionally stopping to capture a picture and reached our hotel. It was a 10 minute walk from the railway station to our hotel, if we were to walk without stopping anywhere. The hotel was decent enough, with nice and clean rooms. The windows of our rooms opened to an uninteresting canal view though. We were all extremely tired from the lack of sleep, the night before, outside the Pisa Airport but strongly resisted an urge to crash on the bed. We got fresh in under an hour and were ready to explore the beautiful city.

We walked back to the station and had a delicious pizza again. It was almost time for sunset and so we decided to ride the Grand Canal and witness a beautiful sunset over the city from water. We bought a 24 hour pass for about Eur 16 from a Vaporetto waterbus stop which was close to the railway station. The waterbus arrived a few minutes later and we boarded it. The city on water from water, during sunset, offered completely different vistas. We sailed slowly through the Grand Canal with dimly lit buildings and a crescent moon in the background. Awesome. We got down at the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s square) and decided to explore the area on foot. The night view of the city was simply stunning, especially since it was dressed for Christmas. We were now at the world famous St. Mark’s square and looking at the Basilica in awe. I don’t exactly know why, but I was feeling proud at that moment! We spent quite some time roaming around the square until a nearby Ferrari store caught our eye and soon we were drooling over the merchandise. The best way to explore the city is to get lost in it. This is exactly what we did and started walking towards our hotel. Keeping a sense of direction, we turned on every street, which we found interesting. Our walk led us through various kinds of streets; some were very wide, some short, some with small bridges, some with long bridges, some were too narrow (just about an arms’ length, seriously!). It took us about 30 minutes to walk back to our hotel from St. Mark’s square but it was completely worth it.

Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzz.. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

The next morning, we again boarded a water bus and set sail for St. Mark’s square. It was interesting to view the same route in a different light…and interesting things like an ambulance on water, people drying clothes (what if it falls down!) etc. We were now at the world famous St. Mark’s square and looking at the Basilica in awe, YES! AGAIN! At the square, we played with the pigeons for a while and then went inside the Basilica. It was absolutely stunning from inside. It is very difficult to express its’ beauty in words and unfortunately photography was not allowed inside. The high ceiling and walls were completely covered in mind blowing mosaics. We came out blessed and decided to go for a Gondola ride. Visiting Venice and not going for a Gondola ride is like committing a crime. There was a Gondola parking point nearby and after a lot of haggling we settled for a 45 minute ride for Eur 80. Initially the price quoted was Eur 120! I would not say that Eur 80 was worth the price we paid but there are some things that you can only do once in a lifetime and this was one of those things. Viewing Venice from an extremely low angle by sitting in a Gondola was definitely an experience worth remembering. This was one of my dreams but there was a slight twist. I certainly did not dream about a Gondola ride with three other guys! Anyways there is always a next time . It still was a wonderful experience, which I would cherish throughout the rest of my life.

It was already 3 P.M and after the ride we again started walking slowly towards the station. This time our route took us over the charming Rialto Bridge. We enjoyed every step on those streets for an hour and reached the station. After a quick bite we were all set to bid adieu to Venice. Of all the cities I have visited so far, Venice remains my favorite. I quietly turned my back to the same view that had greeted me the previous day and vowed to return someday.

Next stop: Rome

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