Best memory of Venice

Basilica San Marco in Venice

When you travel around the world you always collect good memories and bad ones from the various cities and countries you go and visit. But there are places which always leave you an indelible mark and because of this you will never forget that smell, that view, that sound or that particular moment.

Venice does this to everyone. It is impossible to visit Venice and not bring home any kind of memory: whether it is a good one or a bad one, you cannot visit the Serenissima and leave with nothing. You might remember the beautiful canals at night and that romantic ride on the gondola, you might just remember the crowds and the queues; you might dream of the gorgeous seafood and the fantastic cicchetti that you enjoyed sitting in that hidden Osteria near the Gran Canal or you might have nightmares about the bill the waiter brought to you in that fancy restaurant by Saint Mark’s square with the suited up waiters and the band playing all day for the passing tourists.

No matter what, nobody leaves untouched.

So I was very curious to find out what people actually brought back in their hearts once they left the City of Water. That is why I have started this series of guest posts from travel writers and bloggers, home rental owners, chefs and just friends of the web.

I hope you will enjoy it and find some useful information for your next trip to Venice!

The first guest post is brought to you by Mary Novakovich, which I thank dearly for taking the time to write for me and accepting to do this!

Venice memories

By Mary Novakovich

 

 

I made my first visit to Venice very recently. As a travel writer who has explored some pretty obscure parts of Italy, this is a strange admission to make. How could I have avoided visiting one of the world’s most famous cities? Well, for one, I’m not that keen on immense crowds of gormless tourists who, frankly, just get in my way. I have enough of that at home in London.

 

But, gratifyingly, Venice lived up to the hype. It is an astounding city, whose beauty is clear to see through the hordes of people who try very hard to spoil my view. But Venice is generous in her riches: they are everywhere, and very easy to enjoy. In two minutes, you are away from the crowds and lost in atmospheric alleys that lead to isolated canals. The quiet is almost disturbing after the noise of the throng you just left.

 

I won’t wax lyrically on the beauties of Venice here. Countless writers have done that already. But one of my most memorable moments in Venice involved leaving La Serenissima. I was taking the vaporetto from San Marco to Piazzale Roma where a bus was waiting to take us back to Treviso airport. The rear section of the vaporetto was empty, giving us the chance to sit in peace and lose ourselves in the sight of the sun setting on the grand palazzi of the Grand Canal. As the sky changed colour and the city’s lights came on, we sat eating arancini we bought from a little bakery in San Polo and were saving for the journey home. A sublime moment that’s very simple: food with a view. And what a view.

 

© Mary Novakovich

Riding on the Vaporetto in Venice

Mary Novakovich is a British freelance journalist and travel writer who works regularly for The Independent newspaper, among others. She specialises in Italy, France and the countries of the former Yugoslavia where her parents were born, focusing on the culture, history and, of course, food. She is happy to share her travel experiences in her own blog Small World where you can read her latest post on Vaporetti in Venice or you can visit her own site www.marynovakovich.com

?