the other day a few of us had a get-away at a resort in the States
my only wish was to soak in the outdoor jacuzzi
it was drizzling outside
after dinner some of us went ahead and plunged into the steaming tub anyway
due to rain we all wrapped our heads with the beach towel
and it was pretty hilarious seeing each other in a “turban”
we had fun chatting away in the steaming outdoor jacuzzi
in the rhythm of the falling rain
i felt happy and i felt like a tourist
later that evening we picked The Tourist to watch
since the movie was filmed in Venice
i so wanted to “revisit” the tourist spots
i quite enjoyed this little cute movie
Angelina Jolie looks princessy, regal and elegant
and the scenery in there brought so much memory…
~~
Venice has a special place in my heart since childhood
all because of a huge painting of a gondola on a textbook
that drew my attention
and i wished then that i would love to visit Venice one day
and ride on the gondola on the Venetian lagoon
and be serenaded by the gondolier
~~
years later my wish to visit the ‘City of Water’ came true
here’s an anecdote of my Venice excursion…
my traveling companion knew that my one sole desire in Venice
was to ride on a gondola
before embarking on the vessel we had a couple of hours to kill
so we visited the museums, the Square, the Rialto bridge, the curiosity shops etc
and had THE best gelato ice-cream ever at the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark Square)
when the time came for the romantic gondola tour
i vividly remembered we had to meet at a certain place
at a certain time for the cruising…
and i waited for closed to 45 minute but there was no sight of my tour group
i started to panick and thought
“O oh… could i be at the wrong place?” *NOOO!!!*
another hour passed by which seemed like ages
and i finally saw my group coming towards me
in time to join another boat tour to the colorful island of Burano
everyone was wondering where was i
and i felt so embarrassed for remembering the wrong waiting spot
and so very sad that i had “missed the boat”
but… but… all things have its blessing in disguise
while being a lone tourist for a couple of hours
i got to enjoy other fun sight and sound of this lively city…
here’s a common sight of how merchants transporting their goods from the boat to the stores as there is no van or trucks in this ‘City of Water’ except pedestrains
while watching everything gorgeous happening around me
and listening to the operatic singers serenading their clients
suddenly there was a big bang on the water near where i was
it’s a boat accident in this oh so narraow canal
a motor boat crushing onto another boat
and bumping other gondolas which cause one gondola to almost tip
it was quite a sight to see
how the gondoliers had to suddenly stop their loud operatic singing halfway in the air
and quickly maneuvering their individual huge vessels
while engrossing with the commotion
suddenly there was this super loud honking behind my back
and as i turned around and this was what i saw… i was like wow…
a Cruise ship in the midst of all these boats, gondolas, motorboats, ferries etc
even though this toursit had missed her once in a life time gondola ride
she better not miss taking a snapshot with the gondolas
which she was so fond of since childhood
Wow, those pictures are fascinating, and so are you Janice! I hope to go there before I’m too old.
Yes, go and be a tourist there and don’t forget to dress like Jolie ;p
Thank you, Janice, for a real “tourist” story!
You had the best pictures than the Angelina’s one
and I love to see all these fearless pigeons around you.
haha, i think the birdies were eyeing on my gelato ice-cream 😛
glad you enjoyed the story… my travelling companion commented that my experiences were more memorable than her gondola ride! so look like i didn’t miss much…