The Italian Job
Trip Start
Nov 26, 2009
1
10
11
Trip End
Dec 22, 2009
Where I stayed
Base Hotel Venice
Venice, Veneto, Italy
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The next morning was exciting! After having the standard continental breakfast at which I made a piece of toast catch fire, we caught the bus to where a ferry would transfer the group into the city of Venice. Either side of the Grand Canal was breathtaking, and we jumped off the ferry (after heaps of group photos) only needing a short walk to find Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square. Scenes of the recent rendition of The Italian Job came to mind as we strolled through the square on this sunny morning, passing by Doge's Palace, the Campanile and St. Mark's Basilica. Some beautiful shots of this stunning pigeon-infested square were taken before we were whisked off to a short lace exhibition, which is mainly remembered for the exorbitant prices that can be charged for Venetian lace and some ensuing Russell Peters impersonations of Chinese shop-owners. We then headed to an amazing glass-blowing exhibition where the glass-blower shaped a horse in about twenty seconds - if that! A visit upstairs to their shop resulted in the purchase of a beautiful teardrop-shaped necklace as a Christmas present for Caitlin, which was far more reasonably priced than the €40,000 chandelier hanging from the ceiling. To follow was a small adventure through the laneways of Venice before embarking on our gondola ride.
The laneways were exquisite, as we saw the picturesque canals running through the city along with a Ferrari store, and my first experience of Italian cioccolato, or chocolate, gelato. This was not going to be the last time I devoured some of this delicious Italian staple through our time in Italy. The group made its way back to St. Mark's Square, and upon meeting, we ventured through laneways housing big designer brand stores on our way to where our gondolas would be departing on the Grand Canal. The group of Julian, Nick, Elissa, Amanda, Jacko and I purchased a bottle of Bellini to take on our ride, which was knocked back at superhuman speed between the six of us. Our experienced gondolier, we found out, had been on the job and loved it since way back in 1978. It was just a pity he wouldn't sing for us, although That's Amore was sung by the rest of us as we made our way off the Grand Canal and through the narrow, stunning canals that make up the city of Venice. Upon returning, free time was to be had throughout the afternoon, until the optional dinner that was taking place in the evening.
The free time consisted of the boys and Sarah walking through Venice, taking some very fun jump shots with the Grand Canal in the background whilst at the edge of St. Mark's Square, and then a walk through the laneways, following the signs all the way to the Rialto Bridge, another famous Venice landmark. We were able to visit to some markets around the bridge and experience some great photo opportunities with a view of other parts of the Grand Canal. Bumping into some others from the tour, we decided to make our way back to St. Mark's Square, myself leading and navigating the group through the laneways back the way we came, all the while parting ways with the Brisbane boys who were finding their own dinner for the night. Those of us attending the optional dinner met up in front of St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace again, and were whisked away by Cindy and Tyson to the restaurant where our delicious dinner was to be consumed.
I was lucky enough to sit on a table full of girls, with Shanyn, Kate, Ellen, Dee and Madeline making up a table that an obscenely drunk Adam would quite enjoy his time with. This night, although remembered much for its jugs of red and white 'vino' and the delights of several types of Italian food is more fondly recognised for Adam's behaviour. With a €50 bouquet of roses, he passed them out to girls and guys, walked into the restaurant's kitchen when attempting to find the toilet and ultimately providing himself with a great deal of infamy among both Contiki buses on this wonderful tour. Adam quipping back to Dee after having his advances flatly rejected with the line, "I like you, you're fiesty!" led to some of the greatest belly laughs of my holiday. The end of our meal rendered our time in Venice complete, and we boarded the ferry to head back onto the mainland of Italy, most worried about the possibility that Adam might be a bit more than just seasick whilst laughing uncontrollably at the news that a pigeon's excrement had found its way into Matheesha's thick head of hair.
A coach trip with blaring music, pleasing the majority of us that were drunk, was another highlight on this most exciting bus, and we made our way back to the hotel to enjoy the pleasures of a few more drinks with the group in one of the girls' rooms adjacent to ours. This provided a nice and fitting end to a wonderful day in an absolutely beautiful city, an ending that was somewhat different to that of the group down at the hotel bar, with confrontations between members of either bus leading to the very great possibility that Contiki may never stay at the Base Hotel in Venice ever again!
