Along the way the driver makes conversation with me. He takes me to a small diner where he so kindly buys me a nice cold bottle of coke. We get to the outskirts of Venice and now I see all the canals. We drive over the bridge and head into town. He then pulls the car over and informs me that I need a water taxi to my hotel! He kindly helps me to the docks and asks one of the men to help me. I'm told it will cost 60 euro to cross! I tell them that its too much and that I will catch the public water bus. The driver then points out to me that the bus doesn't go to my hotel directly and although other people would probably find their way ok - he doesn't trust that I will! After realizing he is most likely correct and it has already been a long day, the other man agrees to do the ride for 50 euro's for me. Another blow to the wallet and I am on my own private boat to my hotel.
The views are amazing and it is a very lovely way to arrive. We cut through the water, the warm breeze blowing through my hair. I pass gorgeous old buildings, gondolas and various other boats. It so strange to see a city built entirely around water. There are no cars, but a lot of different boats. Restaurants line one side of the water front. Everyone is whistling tunes, singing, laughing and calling out to each other in friendly banter (I think) it is so wonderful to be around.
We finally pull up to the jetty outside my hotel. There is a little man dressed in a fine little uniform waiting with the bag trolley to help me with my luggage. The taxi man ties the boat to the pier then the two men help to escort myself and my luggage off the boat. The well dressed man walks with me into the huge reception area where another staff member opens the door for me. The air conditioning welcomes me in. The hotel is breath taking. It is apparently an old convent where young ladies would go to learn to be nuns and has now been recreated into 5 star luxury. The reception organize my bags and take them to the room. I wander down the old hallway and head out to the cobblestone courtyard to meet my friends for a drink. A table set with a wine bucket holds a delicious bottle of bubbly, we happily oblige and clink our glasses.
After a shower, make up and hair session we head out, past the first courtyard into the large back courtyard. The tables are set with fine table cloths, the grass and gardens beyond the cobblestones are beautifully maintained and the air is warm. Our waiter is very attentive and we order another bottle of bubbly. After all the travels I am starving so we order a few nibbles to share. Breads, octopus, scallops, salad and a delicious fritter of some kind. When the bottle mysteriously finishes itself we decide to head across the river to try out the sister hotel.
We make our way over to the jetty and the complimentary boat awaits us. The driver helps me aboard and then drives us across the canal. The sister hotel is beautiful. We get off the boat and head through to the cocktail area on the terrace to continue the nights festivities. The cocktails are beautiful, very well made, delicious and apparently quite alcoholic. After a Pina Colada, Amereto sour and a Mojito we decide to go and explore St Marks Square.
We walk through the courtyard, through the hotel and over the bridge to the Square. It is stunning. The Cathedral stands in all its glory in the distance in front of us. The other two long buildings standing behind their marble columns are lit up and look magnificent. There are restaurants along either side and four small brass and piano bands are taking turns playing beautiful classical music. We decide to enjoy another cocktail and are seated right in front of the group that have just started their next set. We order our Mojitos and sit back to soak in the atmosphere. The band is full of passion for their music and each musician is booggying away adding their own unique showmanship to the group with their own unique instrument The crowd is absorbed in the melodies drifting from the stage to us. Crowds of people have gathered behind all the tables to enjoy the music as well. I look up at the magnificent old buildings surrounding us. This moment is perfect. The drinks arrive, the next melody is new york new york and everyone is happily clapping and singing along. I enjoy a couple of small toasted sandwhichs with my mojito. after an hour or so we decide to make our way back to the hotel. The bill comes and these are officially the most expensive cocktails we have ever encountered. 60euros for two cocktails and a small sandwhich. Although we are floored, it was a very great atmosphere and the night has been perfect. We pay the waiter and head back to wait for our boat to the hotel.
The next day we awake and head for breakfast. The boat is half an hour away so, with me already being past starving, we stop in at a small little cafe for a quick pre-breakfast pizza. A little Chinese man comes out to serve us. I order what I think is a margarita pizza and a hot chocolate to drink. After about five minutes my hot chocolate comes out. It is dark and very thick in its consistency, I almost need a knife and fork to get through it. I then successfully manage to drop a large splat in my lap and now need to go back and get changed before the day can begin. Then the pizza arrives. It has the standard cheese and tomato sauce on the base, but on top of this it is dotted with sausage. Keeping an open mind I bite into a slice and the the taste of salt and mystery meat is just a bit much to bear. I pick the meat off the top and am able to enjoy my pre-breakfast.
After paying for breakfast and a quick change of clothing we are on the boat to go exploring in Venice. We wander around St Marks Square for a little bit and attempt to join the line for the cathedral. It is huge, so we decide to locate some lunch to pass the time. On the way we pass a lot of stores full of amazing hand crafted masks. The beauty and intricacy of each mask draws me in to each shop. It would have been amazing going to the masquerade ball back in the medieval times. Old ensembles are displayed on maniquiens.Huge, heavy looking dresses for the women of that era. We pass a few restaurants and decide on a small place on the edge of the canal. After a nice lunch of pasta and wine we go back to try our luck in the line.
We times it just right, the lines are only about a third as long and it only takes us about 20 minutes to get to the front.As we enter a man informs me that I must cover my shoulders. For one euro I can buy a triangle of fabric to cover them. I notice the boxes and these are cheap nasty table cloths that the cut into triangles and then sell for a tidy little profit. I have no choice really so I pay the man and wrap the horrid fabric around my shoulders to enter the cathedral. It was a great little purchase as the inside of the church is amazing.There is a choir in the far left hand corner and their music is absolutely beautiful to listen to. We climb up the stairs to get a birds eye view of the church and to explore other areas up stairs. We head out on to the balcony area and get a great view of the square as well. After a few sneaky photos we go back down the stairs and leave the church.
After looking for a mask to purchase as a souvineer and finding so many amazing ones I am overwhelmed. We decide to go for a cocktail at the sister hotel then head back to get organised for the night. I enjoy the best pinacolada I have ever tasted and just in time for the boat to arrive. We head back, get changed and relax for a few moments. We again catch the boat back and head to reception to go on a Gondola ride. 120 euro's later we are on the gondola. We float through the streets enjoying the peace and relaxation of the ride. Our driver points out Casanova old house and a few other famous old places. The way he manoeuvre's the boat is incredible. We pass other gondolas and the drivers are all smiling, laughing and joking with one another. Some boats have men playing the accordion. Others have hired singers. We pass down the Grand canal enjoying all the sites along the way. We finally come back the dock where we stared and after I manage to successfully get of the swaying boat in sky high stillettoes we make our way back to the terrace for dinner.
We get back to the restaurant in time for our booking. We are seated and they bring us out a bowl of perfectly baked bread and some beautiful pesto butter with a small flower on top. We order a bottle of wine and then scan through the menu. Being a fine dining restaurant, all the food items are not your typical itallian or Australian type of food. I order my entree of marinated cherries with pate and blue cheese. It is suprisingly delicious!! Next the waiter brings out some fried cheese balls as a welcome from the chef. We all order our mains. The only thing that i felt like I could stomach was the veal, and apparently it must be shared between two people. So, after convincing one of my friends to share with me, dinner is ordered. Soon the waiters start to prepare for our meal. The replace our cuttlery and top up our drinks. Next they bring over not one, but two round tables and place them next to us. The drape a table cloth over them. We look at each other - how huge is the steak going to be? Then they bring out a huge knife - almost the size of a machette, wrapped in a cloth and place it on the side of the tables. Im getting a little nervous about our meal now and other guests in the restaurant are starting to look at us a bit weird. Then two large silver platters with the dome lids are placed on the table. They remove one lid and a ginormous lump of meat is covering the tray! It is enough to feed the entire town! The waiter picks up a spoon and a fork and begins to tap the meat all over, the shell begins to break and he slowly removes the outer layer. By the time he has finished a much more proportionate sized meal is in front of us. In fact - now it might not be enough! He then picks up the large silver knife and begins to slice it into smaller edible portions. He devides it onto two plates, then takes the lid off the next tray. Underneathe are perfectly cooked egg plants which he adds to the plates. Finally, he drizzles an very delicious gravy all over the meal and places the plates on our table. Seems like a lot of effort to bring out our meal - but the showman ship was entertaining. The meal is beautiful. Perfectly cooked and all the flavours mesh perfectly together.
After enjoying a lovely dinner and another musical display in st marks square, it is a nice early night ahead for all of us. The food, the wine and the day of site seeing has drained the last bouts of our energy supply, and after another boat trip across the canal to our hotel we all gratefully fall asleep nice and early.
The next morning we pack our bags and the reception staff store them across the canal at the sister hotel. We spend the morning exploring the tower across from the cathedral. The views of Venice are beautiful. After a quick souvineer stop we make our way back for some lunch and to wait for the water taxi to the airport. After sleeping on the boat we arrive at the airport and make the 10 minute walk from the dock to check in. The line is huge and stress begins to mount slightly. We work our magic and skip the line straight to the front-that was easier than expected! So after checking in the bags, we clear security and sit and wait for the plane. Next stop . . . London!
