MAY 2018 Best of Italy Tour – Venice and Burano Part 1

What does one say about the City of Venice? How do I condense such a dream come true experience into a few paragraphs? I had been so looking forward to arriving here and, once again, I was not to be disappointed. We had two nights in the Grand Albergo Ausonia & Hungaria Hotel. Very opulent. Food and cocktails awesome. By this stage of the Tour we had formed friendships making the day tours and evening dinners even more enjoyable.

The first day we were taken by a private water taxi along Venice’s Grand Canal. I was certainly educated about this fascinating City having previously no idea what to expect. I thought there would just be long narrow canals traversed by boats and gondolas. To my surprise the Grand Canal is huge. It forms one of the major water corridors in the City. We travelled past buildings dating back to the 13th to the 18th century. Renaissance architectural motifs appear on many of the buildings.

Stepping from the water taxi we admired the palazzi (former Palace now Museum) walked to St Mark’s Square and the Piazza SAN Marco. The sheer splendour and magnificence of the buildings comprising this Square including St Mark’s Basilica (Christian Church) took my breath away. I just kept mouthing WOW!

And now time to board our gondola and glide along Venice’s narrow waterways. Not as romantic without a partner to share the experience with but incredible just the same. Tour members clambered into individual gondolas for this experience of a lifetime including being serenaded.

The second day we woke to rain but, undaunted, several of us took the optional tour exploring the maze of streets which make up this unique City, escorted by a local guide who gave us a brief insight into Venice’s past and present. Very difficult when one is hearing impaired to partake fully in this kind of tour even though we were equipped with speakers and ear pieces. However I managed to get the gist of the conversation and found what I did hear fascinating. We visited the Basilica of St Mark. There is no way to describe the size, opulence, magnificence, mosaics, statutes, figurines, images throughout the vestibules which are spread four ways representing a cross. We were told that for its opulent design, gold ground mosaics and its statues as a symbol of Venetian’s wealth and power, from the 11th century on, the building has been known as ‘The Church of Gold’.

No photography was allowed inside the Basilica. The following photos I have chosen from a website. The second one is mosaics on the interior domes looking eastward.

So much more to see in this captivating City. I will write more in Venice, Part 2.

I hope you are enjoying reading my blogs as much as I like to write about my travels and experiences.

Rhonda – The Australian Travelling Nomad.