Venice, Italy
As soon as we saw turquoise blue water on both the sides of the railway line, we knew we had reached Venice. Outside the railway station, it was pleasing to be greeted by a wide canal and the connecting bridges, Venetian landmarks. All of that was fascinating for some time, but soon became overwhelming. Venice was choked through and through with tourists. May be February is not really the best time to visit the famous cities in Italy. Is there a best time at all? But anyway, we'll give them a benefit of doubt that they might have thought what we thought and ended up thinking what we're thinking!
Just half a day in, and we were done. It got too monotonous to brave the crowds (at times we didn’t have to walk, we were just flowing in the crowd’s direction. Meh!) and see a canal at every turn. It is perhaps one of those cities where even Google Maps needs to do some serious homework. The map gave up almost all the time we searched for a place. Unless you have a strong sense of direction, it’s easy to get lost in the labyrinthine alleys of Venice.
One of the many arrow alleys
We also decided not to fall for the famous Venetian tourist trap. Some call it a gondola ride. Remember the song Do lafzon ki hai dil ki kahani from the late '70s movie The Great Gambler? Well, we did’t find the whole idea of floating around in the lagoon, seeing the same things we could see on foot worth the time and €80. So we just skipped it. Dil hai ki manta nahi!
Thanks to the good food we had during our stay, we weren’t completely disappointed with our decision to include Venice in our itinerary. Dinner at Rosticceria San Bartolomeo, a local favourite hangout, was a memorable experience. More special because we ditched our GPS to tickle our navigation sense and good Lord we found the tucked away pub when it was raining cats and dogs. Quite a proud moment!
The staff behind the counter was extremely patient with us non-Italian-speaking travellers asking what was on the menu, which was all in Italian, of course. We loved their suggestions and enjoyed our meal with birra (beer) and vino rosso (red wine) to go along.
Fried mozzarella, fish ball, wine, and beer keeping us warm and happy on a rainy evening
Spaghetti with clams (spaghetti alle vongole)
The rustic charm of Venice is in its colourful buildings matching the many hues of the famous Murano glass works and the detailed door knockers in cast metal. A glimpse:
Playing with colours
Sphinx in Venice
Symmetrically asymmetrical
Find more of Venice in here:
