La vie est belle…
Yes I’m aware the above is French and I’m talking about Italy however it perfectly describes how I feel. Life is absolutely beautiful in Venice. There is no other place in the world quite like it. Each street and alley way is as quirky and charming as the next. The people are warm and welcoming. The food is excellent. The ice cream exquisite. There is plenty to do for all generations and interests. Watching people pass by in gondola’s is so sweet it’s almost sickening. You can wander for hours and get completely lost but it’s fine because it’s too beautiful to even care that you’re lost.
We arrived in Venice at 11:10 after taking the train from Milan. The journey was seamless and the views of the Alps along the way were mesmerising. We stepped out of the station and were greeted by the most stunning view. I don’t believe there is another train station in the world with a more impressive view on the doorstep. We took the Vaporetto to Piazza San Marco. From there we walked for miles. I couldn’t tell you where we went as we just took a left then a right then went over a bridge and we continued like that for hours. We stopped at a cute little cafe for lunch. After refuelling we got back on the streets and continued walking. As it was around 16 degrees with not a single cloud in the sky, it would have been rude not to have an ice cream. We found a little place right on the water and sat watching the world pass by. Afterwards we started walking again, managing to escape the tourist areas and immersing ourselves with the locals. We were practically the only ones on the streets which was amazing as we could really get a feel for the place, experience and see it properly. The last time I was in Venice you could hardly see the streets as they were just packed full of tourists. It was difficult to walk without banging into people each time. This visit could not have been more different and I loved every single second, in case you couldn’t already tell.
Can’t wait to return in future. Until then…
p.s none of these photos have been edited. This is the real deal although it’s obviously even more impressive in person.
xo!