Last but not Least- Venice

I have had a love affair with Venice since the early seventies when I first visited with my father.  

What attracts me to Venice?  Hard to say, but it pulls at my heart strings.  I love the exotic-looking palaces laced together by quaint bridges over sun-speckeled canals.  i love the romantic atmosphere of elegant decay, the quiet by night, the chaotic by day, St Mark's square, the cafes, even the gaggle of Chinese tourists with the obligatory guide holding the umbrella handle aloft-it is what makes Venice unique in all the world!

Once again we used the services of airbnb to book our apartment for four glorious nights.  The apartment was small but very tidy and clean and in a wonderful location only a short 15-20 minute walk to St Mark's square.

Our first walk, our first glimpse down a canal!

Our first view of the iconic gondola

St. Mark's

My sister and I were worried that arriving in Venice at the end of October would mean rain and wind and flooding.  We are happy to report that we need not have worried!  Our four days in Venice were filled with sun, warm weather (15-17C)  and no flooding!

Our friend arrived in Venice on the Tuesday and we visited the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Basilica, and spent a day in Murano and Burano (islands a short one hour vaporetto ride away).  What a glorious adventure!

Words cannot adequately capture the beauty and mystique of Venice, nor can photos.  If you have only one trip in mind to view an iconic city, then my choice would be Venice!

travelling by water bus (vaporetto) like the harried inhabitants

Italian glass garden in Murao

picturesque Burano

View of the cemetery only accessible by boat

Canal view with the setting sun

Mosaics of St Mark's Basilica

One of the many artfully displayed stores

Did I mention that I love Venice!  The city is very expensive to live in and inconvenient but for the romantic, there is no place like it on earth!  Could I live in Venice, well not forever but I can visit it year after year without tiring of its beauty and mystique.  I love the lacy palaces, the artisans, the masks, the marionettes, the blown glass, the jewellery, the gelato, the fish markets, the fruit markets, the gondolas, the fishing villages in Burano and Murano, the basilicas, I love it all!  Venice I will return to you again and again.

Arriverdeci Venezia!