Roaming the lands: Venice, Italy
Ah, Venice. The place that we have dreamt about in our most romantic dreams. My first visit there was (unfortunately?) with friends. Honestly, almost three years after the visit all I remember was the awe of seeing a city on water, the interesting shops, and wishing that I had splurged for a gondola ride.It is said that the best way to explore Venice is by foot, and after doing so, I wholly agree! We saw quaint shops, many selling Venetian masks, Murano glass accessories and other knick-knacks, but also some selling other interesting stuff tucked in the corners of secluded streets. Throughout my stay in Italy, I saw Venetian masks in practically every touristy place we went to, but the ones in Venice are by far the most unique and interesting.
Some of the weirder masks
A grizzly bear made of spark plugs – Don’t we both look terrifying?
Amused to see these signs, just like on normal roads
I was then more interested in just relaxing and walking around on the maze-like streets rather than focusing on the buildings. There were many interesting ones though, like the Bell Tower of Saint Mark. We also went to Piazza San Marco, which was very lively at night. There were beautiful churches all around too, of course.
S. Maria d. Salute
S. Maria del Frari
We also went to Murano Island, which I absolutely loved due to my adoration for pretty dainty things that I usually destroy with my clumsiness. Murano is known for its glass making. Other than glass, there were many other souvenirs that caught our fancy, like a gorgeous hanging mobile which I immediately fell in love with but was unfortunately not for sale… the owner made it for himself and it was just a decoration.
Cometa di Vetro, Comet Glass Star
I almost forgot to include some interesting facts about this place! Did you know:
- Composer Antonio Vivaldi and famous lover Giacomo Casanova were born in Venice, and that
- Only 3-4 Gondolier licenses are issued annually?
Wishing more than ever that I have taken a gondola ride now.
The Bridge of Sighs, the view from which is the last view of Venice that convicts see before imprisonment – closed at the time
Can’t think of what else to say at the moment (which is very weird for big-mouthed me), so I’ll just let the pictures (and the captions) do the talking.
My friend looks so cool in this one!
Not the best picture of me… but I like this picture because of the gondola at the back, so please focus on that… and the Rialto Bridge
A pretty cool band playing, can’t remember the name at the moment
Clichéd picture of the sunset
That’s all for now I guess. Yay so I managed a post for August!
(credits to my friend Raj who took the 2nd, 8th and 10th pictures)
