We went to Venice for four days at the beginning of September 2003, just before I enrolled at Cardiff University to start my history degree. Venice is unique for the obvious reasons. One thing I liked about Venice was how everything was within walking distance. There were no cars, buses, etc in sight during our stay, which was strange at first. Venice will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s where Rob proposed. Awwh!
On arrival in Venice, we had to take a water taxi to our accommodation. As we got closer to our accommodation, we realised just how much water surrounds Venice. The water was surprisingly clean; it didn’t smell and I don’t remember seeing any litter floating around in the water. Our accommodation was in St. Mark’s Square, (which features St. Mark’s Basilica) so clearly a fantastic location. Walking around was like walking in a maze; lots of narrow streets/alleys and bridges to cross between them, until they open up to the huge square, covered in pigeons. Good job I wasn’t alone because I really would have got lost, with my brilliant sense of direction!
Almost everyone there was a tourist (apart from those working in café’s, restaurants, etc). I don’t think it’s a very practical place to live. Venice is built to impress. I was greatly impressed with how the buildings seemed so sturdy when I imaged something, built on water, to easily topple over. Having said that, there were one or two buildings that seemed to have been built on mushy, unstable foundations.
We took the opportunity to go in the Basilica. I vaguely remember it but nothing stood out for me, so I don’t think I was that impressed. We went up the top of Bell Tower and had a splendid view of Venice in the distance. We also spotted the Rialto Bridge, which is unique because of the numerous shops on the bridge. We took a ride in a gondola too – well, you can’t go to Venice and not go in a gondola, can you?! It was expensive but worth it and exactly how I imagined it would be. Rob was a little disappointed though because that was the day he proposed, but didn’t have the ring on him that afternoon to propose in the gondola. To be honest, I’m glad he didn’t! If he got down on one knee in the already unsteady gondola, what’s to say it wouldn’t have capsized?!
Rob proposed in a restaurant that evening (5 September). We went into a typical Italian restaurant where I had lasagne, followed by tiramisu then coffee – proper Italian coffee! When the coffee came to the table, this is when Rob proposed. He stood up (making me think he was going to the loo) then got down on one knee next to me, opening the box with the ring in and asked “will you marry me?” I was completely taken by surprise because even though we had talked about getting married, I didn’t think he would propose that soon (as he only just started working after finishing studying full time). I blurted out “of course I will” and shed a few tears – how embarrassing! We then celebrated our engagement with a bottle of wine on St. Mark’s Square – which wasn’t cheap!! That’s another thing about Venice, it’s expensive!
Tags: Europe