Venice – The Queen of the Adriatic

Venice is the City of Masks, the City of Bridges, the City of Water, the Floating City. It bears all names proudly because it is the Queen. Fascinating, dignified, divine, mesmerizing….

Combining business with pleasure, we stole a couple of days from our schedule to explore it and we only managed to scrape just a tiny portion of it, but just enough to have it imprint a strong stamp on our hearts!

A view from Rialto Bridge overlooking the Grand Canal.

No matter what one reads about the city, the minute you enter it, you are under a spell. The intertwining bridges take you to its heart, where you can feel the pulse and the rhythm of the city, soaking its dreamlike architecture, art-filled palaces and palpable history. The picturesque, gondolas-filled canals make you feel as if in an old-fashioned movie, gliding smoothly under the bridges, taking breaths away.

What may diminish your pleasure and enjoyment is the invasion of tourists especially at St.Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) cradling the iconic St.Mark’s Basilica which is enthrallingly grandiose. Standing in front of it as well as inside, one finds himself at loss for words. I wish we had come there early in the morning to witness its beauty in quiet and solitude.

We didn’t want to say goodbye at the end of the day, but we hope to be blessed to see this pearl again!