The day dawned bright and sunny.It was a Sunday but we had to get up early since we had to reach the pick up point by 9.15 AM for the trip to Murano,Burano and Torcello.
We went down to the ground floor for our breakfast and the first sight of Venezia in daylight took our breath away.The hotel was located right on the Grand canal and there were boats and gondolas already plying.Sudha had her customary first photo taken against the backdrop of the Grand Canal.
After breakfast, we walked across to San Stae Boat Station ( 1 minute away) and took Boat No 1 proceeding towards Lido.These Boat Stations are just like Bus Stations with all the stops and the directions mentioned.We went past Rialto Mercato ( Market- since the vegetable and fruit market is located here), passed under the famous Rialto Bridge and then past San Toma , San Marko and San Giglio on to San Zaccaria. We got off here and walked the 30 metres to the pick up point.The other members of the group joined us here and then we set off in a boat to the island of Murano----famous for its glass.
We went to a glass factory and watched a glass blowing demonstration.The glass blower made a prancing stallion right in front of us---- very impressive.We went to a showroom and saw some very beautiful glass articles here. We bought a blue glass bell here.From Murano, we went to Burano, famous for its lace.We visited a shop and watched a lady stitching lace and bought a table cloth and also a Venezia mask.
We then hopped on the boat again for a visit to the island of Torcello. Nothing much to see here except for an old church and old graveyards.We then got back to the starting point of the tour.When we got off, the Venice Marathon was going on and we joined the others in shouting “ Bravo!! Bravo !!” to the runners. We stopped at a café for lunch and met a girl from Chennai who was here on an official trip.She was from Mogappair and was thrilled to meet us.
After lunch, we wandered over to Piazza San Marco and went inside the cathedral.Very nice and the whole piazzas ( like all Piazzas in Europe) is filled with people and has a festive air about it.It was still 3 PM and our gondola trip was at 6.30 PM.So we boated back to the hotel, dumped our unwanted stuff and went back to San Giglio which was the starting point of our gondola trip. At 6.30 PM, we were asked to get into the gondolas.4 people in each gondola and a total of 5 gondolas. One of the gondolas has a serenader and one person who plays the music.All the gondolas start together and go side by side on the Grand Canal.A very nice sight and lots of people watching and taking photographs from the Rialto Bridge.The serenader sings romantic songs and one that I could remember was “ It’s now or never” by Elvis Presley though the words were in Italian. The boats then turn back on the Grand canal and enter into one of the narrow alleys one behind the other. They come out through another narrow alley and stop at the starting point. This gondola ride was easily the highlight of our Europe Tour.
The time was now around 7.45 PM.We took the next Boat No 1 to Ferrovia ( Railway Station) and walked down to Ganesh Ji Restaurant. I ordered a glass of wine and we then had roti, aloo palak and vegetable biriyani.Ah !!! Heaven!!After the meal was over, I asked the owner for his card and said I wanted this to do a review of the restaurant on TripAdvisor. Whether because of this or because of genuine hospitality, he gave us the bill and said that the wine was on the house.
We then took Boat No1 back to San Stae to Hotel Palazzo Giovanni and a well deserved night’s sleep.
End of Day 9.
No comments:
Post a Comment