I kept telling myself over and over again, I am actually in Italy, can you believe it? I was so excited I just could NOT stop smiling. It was unbelievable but true. I was there! I jumped up and down until Angie got quite fed up! But she had also been beaming from ear to ear! Her dream had also come true. So, two "dream-come-true" people started on a happy vacation.  The one and only item on my bucket list finally ticked off.

We were traveling from Vienna, Austria. I woke up feeling excited. Seated cross legged, I watched as my friend Angie hung on to the top bunk as she climbed up rather clumsily and finally heaved her self up and plopped herself on the bunk. I was not sure whether the rather heavy bump and jolt was her landing on the bunk or the vigorous shaking of the train! With her smile radiating her excitement she said we were soon to arrive at the Santa Lucia railway station in Venice. We had finally made it to the land of my dreams - Italy.

Our bags now felt rather heaving as we dragged it along the uneven cobbled path. The man at the station had said it was just a five minute walk but it seemed as though we had walked miles now. The Venetians we asked smiled pleasantly and encouraged us on - "oh its just a few minutes further down, just keep going". I was beginning to think we had been directed to a wrong place. The vaparo would have been easier but the man said "no no its just here". So where?? Now almost 20 minutes of walking and I was feeling desperate.

Tired after a night rocking on the top bed of the night train from Vienna in a cramped bunk was not exactly my idea of a comfy nights rest. As we finally stopped at the kiosk, which was the landmark turn off to our hotel, I was frankly a bit shocked. I looked across at Angie who also looked a bit dazed. As we dragged our bags down the so called "lane" which resembled nothing but a dank cold alley I was shocked and was getting more and more disillusioned. We had booked this hotel for its location on Bookings.com and it seemed very nice. Of course they had said "don't be misled by the approach". But this???? Overhead clothes gently swayed in the breeze on clothes lines, down below, men pushed handcarts ladened with cans of beer and boxes of fruits. Where was this place? Then we saw this rather scary looking doorway with the sign "Al portico" - 1804. I just wanted to run. No, I just couldn't stay here. Angie was shocked too. What shall we do? We were in a quandary. Just then a loud "HELLO" coming from behind us, made us jump. And there stood the most gorgeous man on earth! Tall dark and handsome! And all our doubts faded away - he was our landlord, and he welcomes us in with a beaming smile and we melted under those gorgeous eyes, quite forgetting our earlier trepidations!! Inside it was another story. A lovely hotel with a welcoming and comfortable room. No, I am not just saying this because the Landlord was a gorgeous hunk! The landlord was so friendly and he just lugged our suitcases up with such ease (he was robust too!). We had finally arrived in Venice and happy.

Our hotel was indeed in a central spot. On one side the streets were narrow and crowded with shops selling the most unusual stuff - masks of all types depicting the theme of "Merchant of Venice" and post card stalls and quaint streets of restaurants selling pizza and pasta with pretty little tables outside.

The strong smell of Italian coffee wafted around and mingled with the fresh air from the lagoon. And on the other side, the canals with its gondolas gliding along and the Vaparo’s (boats) whizzing around was quite a different site. The lagoon of Venice was full of laughter and happiness. The people were friendly and cheerful. Venice - a lovely, happy, cheerful and beautiful city.

There was so much of history, of art and culture, of food and drink.

Our first stop was to see the Palace Ducale also known as the Dodges Palace. A vast complex which housed both the Palace of the Doges as well as the organs of the government such as the General Council, Senate, judiciary as well as the Prison. A place where the government ruled successfully without a written constitution. Established in 1340, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture Beautiful marble sculptures and world famous paintings of great painters depicting various events from Venetian history adorn the walls and where even the ceilings were painted.

The golden staircase is not to be missed with its 24 carat stucco work.

On the First floor lies the Doges Apartments where the Dodges lived with 24 hour security. A beautiful set of rooms shows you how they lived in such grandiose style. A secret staircase led from the apartment to the main hall where the Dodges would preside in the Centre Podium of the Hall where the council members would assemble every Sunday as the the bells of Saint Marks church rang.

In the Full Hall one could see that Christ was predominant as they believed that the Dodges was under the protection of the Son of God.

And leading off across the bridge lay the Prison where prisoners were kept. Their chambers are on display.

An amazing set of rooms in the institutional chambers and the apartment makes this place a definite must Visit place in Venice.

Tired after the long walk inside the palace and saturated with beauty and information we were a bit tired. We refreshed ourselves with a hot cup of coffee latte, the best Italian coffee. As the sun was about to set and we needed to rest and relax we decided to take the much looked forward to "Gondola ride".

The Gondola Ride

As we headed for the Gondola Station down a cobbled alleyway lined with brick houses with their balconies full of pots of varied colours of flowers, spilling over the balconies and the smell of freshly baked bread and pasta wafting all around, we realized that this was indeed our dream coming true. As we reached the end of the alley we saw the rows of gondolas  lining  the edge of the canal. The Gondoliers with their smart black and white shirts all waiting for their next customers. Gondolas floated up and down the canal while tourists enjoyed a ride in the cool breeze of the evening. With such perfect weather, what better than a gondola ride?

We climbed into the Gondolas and seated ourselves on the velvet seats with the plumped up pillows and as we glided down the canal and into the smaller canals which were flanked on both sides with traditional houses which once again sported pretty coloured flower pots on the balconies, we were in heaven. It was an educational ride too as the Gondolier gave us a commentary on the places as we passed and told us tales about the area. The doors of the houses along the canal actually opened straight onto the canal as people used the gondolas or the Vaporo boats as their mode of transport here. We glided under the bridges and past the houses of famous people as the Gondolier pointed each place out for us.

As we went along we were serenaded by the Gondolier as he sang traditional love songs in his deep loud voice so tunefully and with so much joy. We hummed along as we relaxed on the gondola and basked in the sheer joy of having a gondola ride. As the sun set, the entire canal was cloaked in orange  and birds flew overhead to their resting place. Venice was filled with romance and music and the smell of pizza and coffee.

The next day we visited the Ca d'Oro.

For those who are interested in art the Ca d'Oro musuem with its many sculptures is a must visit. A 15th Century building with a lacy Gothic facade which was once a Palace and in which Titans famous "Venus at the Mirror", Mantegna's "St Sebastian" and Pietro Lombardo's "Jesus leaning on his mother" in marble and famous for the chubby kneed Jesus, is found.

There are so many museums and places to see in Venice we just did not have time to do it all. So we had picked a few places which we thought would be interesting to visit.

Ca Rezzonico, an 18th Century museum located in Dorosoduro was also a Palace at one time, built for the aristocratic Bon Family and was designed by one of the greatest Baroque architects. The First floor had eleven rooms of paintings, sculptures, frescoed ceilings and furniture from the 18th Century. An interesting place to visit.

Basilica San Marco, an edifice of Byzantine architecture was originally the chapel of the Dodge but was later the Patriarch of Venice. It contains mosaics of ground gold. It is said that the evangelist Mark had written the gospel in Rome. The venetians had chosen him as their patron saint because of this. It is said that two Venetian merchants who had stopped to pray at Alexandria where his tomb lay, had stolen his remains and brought it back to Venice by ship hidden in a chest full of vegetables and pork to avoid strict Muslim control. The Dodges had welcomed it and had built the Basilica to keep the saints body. In those days owning a Saints remains meant great earnings for the city as many people came to visit it. The symbol of St Marks which was that of a winged lion armed with a sword because the emblem of Venice representing civil virtues, strength and courage.

The Gallerie Dell Academia, a museum containing pre-19th century art in Venice. Art from 14th Century Byzantine and Gothic periods as well as the paintings from Renaissance painters such as Bellini, Giorgione and other artists from the 18th Century can be seen here. A fabulous collection of paintings. A must visit for all those who are art lovers.

After all the visits to the Museums and cathedrals, we two, exhausted and bombed out with art, sat sipping a coffee and just digesting all that we had seen and learnt. A little tired we walked around and found a lovely place to have pizza. Although the tables outside on the streets were nice we decided to sit inside because it was cold. While all other tourist scrambled for tables outside we slunk inside in search of warmth. Typical Asians, so used to warm weather, we were feeling cold although the sun had been out and shining bright and the weather was supposedly "warm"! The pizza which when we first saw it made our jaws drop and we wondered how on earth we could eat all of it, as it was simply huge, we soon found out that we had eaten every crumb of it without even realizing it. It was thin, light and utterly delicious. With a glass of chilled house wine which was smooth as silk it was one hearty traditional Italian meal.

Murano - Glass Blowing

The next day, we decided it was time to take a little boat trip to Murano Island to watch the Glass Blowing. It was a bit difficult to find the ferry terminal but with the help of the map out hotel gave us we were able to locate it finally. We jumped onto the ferry with all the other passengers and managed to chug our way to the island of Murano. As we docked we were mobbed by touts asking us if we wanted to see glass blowing ( a fee awaited). Afraid of the mob we managed to escape and follow the path towards what we thought must be where the factories were located. After a fairly long walk passing many touristy looking glass blowing warehouses who were actually trying to charge us for watching them blowing the glass, we came upon a lovely place which was not only free but offered a good demonstration. It was simply amazing how they took these molten red balls of glass and turned them into fascinating shapes. It was such an art and an amazing experience.

The shop next door had racks and racks of the most amazing works of art. One just could not imagine how they had made blown them into these shapes. Unfortunately no photography was allowed. Murano is a definite must visit place and if you do have room in your bags bring some home! They also ship their products for you.

There is so much to do in Venice, a single blog will not be enough, nor will a book so go travel, see and enjoy.

In Venice, people are friendly, the wine flows, the talk goes on and on, the laughter booms out from every restaurant and every cafe and every house. The weather was just perfect this May 2016 and we had the best time of our lives - trying out different foods, drinking smooth wines, enjoying chattering to the locals and most of all seeing all things beautiful. A dream in which we lived and loved and would live again if given the chance. You should do it too. I promise you will not be disappointed. Go now, while you can still enjoy! Happy travels.