Pregho

Venice was magnificent. Flying by myself was fun, especially being upgraded to business on the flight there. I went up to see Dad, and he had told the crew during the briefing what seat I was in so they were all really nice. Also at the hotel I talked to some of them. Tuesday afternoon we took the bus to Venice itself (about 20 minutes) and walked around til about 11 PM. We went to a museum type thing; the Doge's palace, which was cool, and to San Marco plaza with all the pigeons, and wandered around little alleyways with glass, lace, and mask stores and restaurants. We had dinner and gelato and went back to Venetia Mestre. In the morning we got breakfast and went back to Venice for a couple hours (had pizza, got the masks, and walked through an old church) before getting back to the hotel and leaving for the airport again. Everything was so picturesque and beautiful. And fresh and green! The weather was chilly but refreshing, and quite damp.

Real pizza =)Random posters in Venetia Mestre
Daddy's on the left =P Arriving back in Dubai.
Coffee bar for breakfast. I loved it because people just came and drank their coffee standing at the counter, talking or on the phone, before going to work. And when you walk in everyone (even the customers) all say "bonne giorno!" Another cool thing is that it's not like India where it's obvious you're a tourist, and people start talking to you in Italian. And if you don't have to say much you can fool them for awhile, heh. Just say pregho. Kidding, but they say that ALL the time, like the all-inclusive polite courtesy word.
breakfast


YUM. I got one of the huge black licorice ropes. Those of you who only like the red kind seriously miss out. We had fish and pasta for dinner. An elderly Greek father and son were at the table next to us and toward the end started talking to us and we ended up getting gelato together and directing them back to the plaza.
Yes, she was in my purse the whole time; don't laugh.

Flight to Venice (these are in really randomized order, sorry)
Playing guitar and singing opera. He was awesome and a great singer. And sang to me =D

Mask shop...the stalls were cheaper but these places were handcrafted and gorgeous. I ended up getting one in a shop (not this one) and it's beautiful.

He was playing the violin on a bridge corner overlooking one of the canals. The violin was very high pitched and clear and he was playing Speak Softly Love from The Godfather which is a lovely melody.
Gelato =)


Gondoliers waiting
San Marco Plaza with all the pigeons




I was moved up to business class on the flight to Venice which was very nice. All the stewardesses were so sweet! The captain helped us get to the bus to Venice (the hotel was in Venetia Mestre which is basically just the mainland right across from it).
This is a snack. And the orange juice was fresh; I had a ton.
I want a house right on the water! They were all SO beautiful and cute.
Everywhere (even in Venetia Mestre) there were little balconies and flower windows.
The doge's palace, which we went into. There was a mural which was the largest oil painting in the world. That place was huge. (no photos inside)
Gondolas! The gondoliers sing sometimes and call out to each other when coming round corners. They're extremely expensive so we didn't go on one, but rode a vaporetto (water bus or taxi) around the island.

If I could live anywhere, for no other reason than just the place itself, it would be Italy. Even the 48 hours trip was amazing. Now I miss Venice AND India.
Anyway, was a very nice trip with dad, and it was cool being on an actual jet that he was flying and not just a private plane. I started giggling every time he did the announcements =P

God bless
love,
Cait