Leap Of Faith Travels: Italian Beginnings

Me and a Venetian dressed woman

Lake Garda, Venice & Verona Italy

Wednesday 19^th March 2014

Finally, the day I have been looking forward to the most. La bella Venezia. I woke up really early with the excitement building up knowing that I will be at the place I’ve always dreamt of going to. After an early breakfast, we set off early as it would take 2 ½ hours to get to our destination. The journey was long but all I could think of was finally being in Venice thinking of the wondrous sights to see. The only down side I had about this trip was that I only had 4 hours to look around Venice so I made a plan to see only the major sights which was a shame because I would have liked to see many of the quiet waterways away from the commotion. A long time had passed until we arrived at a place called Tronchetto where we would board a large boat to take us to the central part of Venice along with a fleet of large and small boats. As my excitement was building up even more I started to see the first visions of the marvellous Venice with the familiar architecture and waterways. Despite the weather being quite dull and misty, I was overwhelmed when I finally caught sight of the square. My heart was in my mouth as it felt so surreal being here. We then moored up and as soon as I stepped off the boat I said goodbye to the passengers and headed off by myself disappearing into the crowd as I took in the wonderful sights. On my way towards the Doges palace I was stopped in my tracks by a women dressed up in a blue Venetian carnival dress and a mask too which looked quite remarkable. I had a couple of pictures taken with her and I was on my way again. My first stop was the Doge’s palace which was amazing to see. It cost 16 Euros to enter but was definitely worth it as the architecture and artefacts were remarkable to see especially the weapons and armoury with a selection of long swords, battleaxes, bows and arrows. My next stop was the Basilica right next to the palace and after lining up to get in, it was a beautiful sight to see alongside the shear scale of the place especially with the inside covered in golden mosaic tiles. Throughout my time here I was constantly thinking of Ezio in Assassin’s Creed climbing and jumping around the area. I knew I couldn’t do that as much as I wanted to so I carried on blending in with the crowd. After admiring the beautiful St Marks campanile which was a monstrous beauty of a structure, it was time to head for the Rialto Bridge. However, as I headed into the narrow streets and into the unique gift shops, I lost my bearings and ended up going a different way and somehow ended up back at St Marks Square. After getting back on track, I eventually found it and it was absolutely incredible to witness first hand. I managed to find a restaurant right next to the bridge to have a beautifully made Lasagne. After taking a few pictures of the bridge and admiring the views from both sides and all the amazing gondolas slowly passing by one another, it was time to head back to the boat. I had one last look of the place admiring the buildings and canal ways with its gondolas and water taxis wishing I could have more time but good things come to an end so I made my way back to the boat as well as everybody else. This was one of the most wonderful sights I have seen in my life and hopefully I will return again. The hardest moment was watching the square disappear around the corner. It was upsetting to be driving away from this place but I was constantly picturing the wonderful sights of the floating city finally being amongst its beautiful wonders.