Venice

Venice would have to be the coolest and most unique
travel destination in the world and has been on the top
of my list of places to visit since i can remember.
It's a sinking city that you can only get to by boat and
attracts three million tourists a year.

We stayed on the mainland and caught a ferry across
to the city centre. The city is so beautiful and everywhere
you looked was picture perfect, like looking at a painting.
The architecture of the buildings and bridges were amazing
and I instantly fell in love with the place.

Our first stop was St Mark's Square or Piazza San Marco
as the locals would say. It is full of life and buzzing with
people and pigeons. It's a chance to stand back and have
a nice, 'welcome to Venice' moment. Here you can see some
of the city's most familiar sites including St Mark's Campanile,
St Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace.

St Mark's Campanile is the tallest structure in Venice and I
can recommend riding the elevator to the top of the belltower
for the best panoramic views of the city. I must say i was
surprised that to see an elevator inside, i was excepting
a few thousand stairs to the top! The tower stands 98.6
metres high and it's from here you can really start to appreciate
the beautiful surroundings. The tower houses five bells and has
been reconstructed after the original tower collapse in 1902.

Directly across from the Campanile is St Mark's Basilica.
It's one of Europe's most exotic cathedrals and was under
construction for 600 years until it's completion in 1617.
The design and detail of the exterior is amazing and
features gold mosaics, emeralds, pearls, oriental marbles
and columns, some which were looted form the Roman empire
after the conquest of Constantinople during 1204.
There are also five domed roofs on top that are to represent
Christ and his 4 Evangelists. It's well worth a visit.

There are 150 canals in Venice and 409 bridges and the
Rialto Bridge would have to be the most famous. It spans
29 metres along the Grand Canal, which is Venice's
equivalent to a main road. The stone arch bridge has been
standing proud since it's completion in 1591, making it the
oldest bridge to cross the Grand Canal. It is now regarded
as one of the architectural icons of Venice.

I would suggest after seeing theses main sights, you
allow yourself to get lost in the streets of Venice.
Take a stroll of the main route and avoid the large crowds,
stroll down the lane ways, cross over bridges and do some
window shopping. It's the best chance to see the real
Venezia Italia and who knows what you might find...

Now whilst in Venice, riding in a traditional Venitian
Gondola is a must! For centuries gondolas were the main
transportation for locals and now they have become a
must do activity for tourists. We rode in a group of six
and went for a twenty minute ride, It was a great experince
and our gondolier even sung us a tune as we cruised around
the canals.

Afterwards we joined a local guide for a walking tour of Venice,
She took us to many historical locations and we went to see a live
glass blowing demonstration, This is an old tradition where the glass
is melted in and crafted into many glass products including sculptures,
lamps and jewelery. It was cool to watch and there was alot of
ohh's and ahh's in the crowd. I picked up a beautiful picture frame there.

Whilst spending the day in Venice, it was great to see all
the different Carnival masks and i could only dream of how
fantastic it would be to be here during that time!
Traditionally people wore the masks during the festival
to hide their identity and disguise their social class.
A mask now makes for a great souvenir!

Our big day ended with a group dinner of yummy Italian
food and a final stroll through the streets of Venice,
our last sight was the bridge of sighs which has become iconic
as it is one of the last sights on the way back to the ferries
and tourist would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice...