In the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho rightly quoted
“It’s the possibility of a dream come true that makes life interesting”. In my
school days, when I read about this unique city of the world and saw pictures
of the crisscrossing canals, it gave birth to a dream in me of visiting Venice,
Italy at least once in my lifetime.
Our Europe itinerary included a day in the
floating city, which was a storehouse of surprises for me as I always thought
it to be a town with a plethora of tunnels and canals. But Venice is actually
built on 118 small islands that are separated by 150 canals and connected by
over 400 bridges. Being an Assamese, I felt an air of nostalgia at that time by
reminiscing our own Majuli, the largest river island in the world situated at
the heart of Assam on the turbulent waters of the Brahmaputra.
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| Water-bus in Venice |
Our coach reached Piazzale Roma, which is the
main bus station of Venice at noon from Innsbruck, Austria. From there, we took
a water taxi via the Grand Canal which is the major traffic corridors in Venice
that meander through the city in a zigzag way. These waterways carry the bulk
of Venetian transportation, as automobiles are banned throughout much of the
city. This 3km long canal is a busy hub used daily by water taxis (motorscafi),
water buses (vaporetto), ambulances, work-boats and the most famous gondolas. I
could not sit back in the cabin and ran to the bow of our ship as it was such a
delightful sight of centuries old palaces, hotels and other public buildings
built in Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles lined on either side of the
canal and surrounded by water. I waved back to the passengers standing at the
balconies of the large and elegant cruise ships starting their journey to
another destination. The entire place looked like a live picture postcard.
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| View of main island from our water-taxi |
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| Cruise Ship |
Soon we reached the main city and started our
guided day tour with a beautiful and friendly Venetian guide. It was a one-hour
walking tour covering the main attractions starting from the Rialto Bridge,
built over the Grand Canal in 1588 linking two crowded streets of the city and
one of the famous landmarks of Venice. Doge’s Palace, an immensely beautiful
and gorgeous palace which was the seat of Government, the Palace of Justice and
the official residence of Doge during the early days as explained by our guide,
hence it holds a major place in the history of Venice. Between this palace and
the new prison was the “Bridge of Sigh” built in 1600 and the concept behind
its name is that the prisoners were given a last chance to look at the outside
world through the bridge and sigh before life imprisonment.
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| Doge's Palace |
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| Pillars and architecture of Doge's Palace |
Next was St. Marks Basilica which is considered
as one of the beautifully designed churches in Italy. The marvelous decor with
gold mosaics, the captivating paintings on the walls, the finesse and soberness
of the architecture left me spellbound.
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| St. Marks Basilica |
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| Gold Mosaics and Paintings |
Piazza San Marco, the most crowded and
my favourite square in Venice. There were pigeons all around the square and the
entire place was filled with happiness and vigor lined with restaurants and
coffee shops with live music to set the perfect Italian mood. We roamed around
the Rialto Market which is known for its vivid presence of small shacks, shops
and food carts, and grabbed some Venetian mask souvenirs.
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| San Marco Sqaure |
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| Piazza San Marco |
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| Cafe with live music |
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| Tourists enjoying Italian food |
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| Pigeons in San Marco Sqaure |
Finally, the time came for which I was eagerly
waiting for, riding the traditional Gondola which is a Venetian boat with a
flat bottom, handcrafted by wood and rowed with a long wooden oar. Gondolas are
the iconic symbol of Venice and riding it was one of my bucket lists, so as I
saw it coming towards me, I could not keep the smile off my face.
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| Gondola Station |
The ride was
truly a mesmerizing one watching the gondoliers maneuvering their gondolas
through the shallow canals with the old buildings having water marks on the
walls indicating the rise in tides. I was soaked in the view of the little
balconies with pretty flowers hanging out, the bridges under which we passed,
the music played in other gondolas and greeting ‘ahoy’ of the gondoliers to one
another. It was not possible to capture every bit with my camera, so I opted for
capturing it in my mind and heart. Too soon, we reached the Gondola station and
it was time to disembark.
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| Bridge crossing |
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| Our Gondolier |
With the sun setting in the Adriatic Sea, we bid
adieu to this enchanting place where water fills the ground and love fills the
air. Whether be it the silhouette of the elegant Venetian boats plying on the
waters of the canals or the vibrant atmosphere of San Marco Piazza or the smiling old
lady at the balcony of the Palazzo Santa Sofia or our
two scoops of gelato, the memories of Venice will be cherished for a lifetime.
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| Palazzo Santa Sofia |
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| Gelato |
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| A man selling beautiful paintings of Venice |
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