ROMAN HOLIDAY PART 1

ROMAN HOLIDAY   PART 1

Rome and Romans of yesteryear always beckoned me. To witness in person. Here was that happening!

We had taken a late evening flight from London to Venice, our next destination. The time in the aircraft was spent on refreshing my memory of history with some help from the very slow wifi connection available.

We were staying in Mestre.  It’s located a little away from the main city of Venice. It a nice quite little place with cute people and is a good option compared to staying in Venice. Apart from this being economical ( with  good hotels) it’s not more than 20 minutes’ drive into Venice.

We left early morning, though the temperature was somewhere in the single digit.

 Venice is a city in north eastern Italy situated on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. Having realised that the city has to be soaked in only through foot and party helped by the boats and , if possible , the Gondolas , we had an open plan.

We soon met a lively lady who took us aside and explained how we can do what we planned. She turned out to be an agent cum guide. We did not  take much time to decide and agreed to her offer. The deal was about the hop on hop off boat that will take us to the locations we wanted in our own time, a strategy we stuck to everywhere.

The boat took us on the lagoon across many small islands, fishing and trading jetty’s. The sight was sublime. The whole of Venice is   a feast for the eye , a perfect unity of natural beauty and human architecture. 

We left the boat at San Marco island, home to San Marco church or St Mark’s Church if you insist!

A word about Venice’s structures is in place. All learned during the time spent there.

The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles, intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on plates of limestone placed on top of the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. Surprise surprise!  Submerged in water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface.

We went through monuments and churches with names like St Marc’s Church, a basilica, Santa Maria and the famous Harry’s bar. We walked. Crossed beautiful wooden bridges. All maintained   beautifully.  Walked and walked looking and taking in the beauty of the canals and of life going buy. Alleppy, in Kerala, did come to mind minus the way the place is looked after. Clean , spic and span. Clearly, all focused on the tourist.

We got onto the small streets lined with shops selling souvenirs, fruits and flowers. Small eateries with neatly laden tables and chairs on pavements in front. Everything clean and tidy.  People dressed in woollens, gloves and moving about without a frown and with a smile. We lost our way in the maze of streets and by-lanes the width of some of which was not more than 5 feet.  Map in hand, a direction asked and answered, more in sign language than spoken, we finally reached where we wanted to. Mind you mobiles do not work on these lanes!

Lunch of Pizzerio , bear and soft drinks  was partaken sitting on a chair set on the tiles pavement  under  canopies and watching people , the canals , the boatmen and their wares.

Another ride on the boat and we were on another island.

One of the island had an excellent beach and a lovely town on its shores. We did spend some time nurturing some excellent coffee and chips

A visit to a small piece of land dotted with shops , canals and bridges. It was a place where glass artefacts and utilities were made,  and as dusk approached and bathed the whole lagoon and canals in golden hues we got back to the boat and had  visual treat on the ride back home .The churches, monuments, houses , shops and boats were lit up across these islands.  

We walked across the city at night taking in various men and women from across the globe relax and enjoy an evening of music and food.

 Next day we took a Railitalia train into Rome. A comfortable ride of two and half hours in a first class coach which was luxury defined