{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter I

I is for ... Italy

In 2005, my boyfriend at the time and I travelled through Europe on a whirlwind Contiki holiday exploring all the tourist spots.

(We fought every night, but loved every second of the trip regardless)

Europe is rich in culture and historical architecture.

1 of my favourite countries of the 11 we visited, was Italy.

Our tour guide (who turned out to be a South African) saw me reading the Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) and recommended that I start reading the book when we travel through Rome as the tour covered many of the attractions visited in the book.

It was a fun journey. My photos could almost have become an illustrated version of the novel, as I read a chapter, I snapped a shot of the place that had been mentioned.

A mentionable place to visit in Rome is the Piazza Navona - once the site of a stadium where ancient Romans would watch the games.

The site features 3 fountains each displaying various statues of Tritons, Gods and the like.

The Trevi Fountain was a place I had always seen on movies and dreamed of visiting. Many visitors were couples holding hands and whispering to each other as they make wishes and declare their everlasting love for each other. I wonder how many of those wishes come true for the long term?

1 of the lesser known places I adored about Italy was the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary. They can be found inhabiting a sunken piazza; a spot where Julius Caesar was apparently stabbed in the back.

The sanctuary was founded by a former opera singer and has been the home to many abandoned and homeless cats over the past 20 years. 

We visited the kitties and found them all very friendly. They had no problem letting the tourists show them a bit of love in exchange for a quick photograph. 

Florence with its’ cobbled streets and gorgeous leather goods was a lovely city to visit. The small shop fronts and narrow streets almost had one believing that we had stepped back in time. A time where life was simple and bartering your handcrafted leather wares in exchange for a hearty dinner was the order of the day.

We also visited Pisa (not much to see besides the tower and the baptistery) and Venice. and of all the cities, it was my favourite - you can read more about it here.

Have you been to Italy? Where is your favourite European country to visit?

Travel Tuesday: Italy, Venice

One of my favourite places of all time. 

The culture and the food. 

The romance of  the warmly lit narrow walkways.

Venice is a place for lovers.

Venice is also listed as a World Heritage Site.

Venice is built on wooden piles and is prone to flooding on Spring time.

When travelling through the canals on gondola - the water and algae marks the tideline over many seasons.

I have heard many people say that Venice is a very dirty city, but while there we saw no dirt or refuse and there was no small from the canal water. Perhaps my nose was frozen off! 

Even the worst weather of our holiday;  -5 degrees Celcius ("This weather is so unusual", say the locals) with icy wind and slushy snow could not deter me from falling in love with this city.

Bridge of Sighs

The prisoners walked across this bridge to be hung and it is said that even now you can still hear the sighs of the long dead.

Santa Maria della Salute

A very popular cathedral - Saint Mary of Health -  presiding over the Grand Canal, it was built as a thank you for those who survived the Plague in the 1600s

Pigeon Whisperer

Have a bag of bird food in your hand and before you can say tweet - the birds bombard you. 

It felt like they were everywhere and yet when you see the photos, it isn't the same as the Hitchcock scene you imagined it to be

Food? Food, food, food, food!

The Grand Canal

Masks

We trawled the dimly lit streets looking for the "perfect mask". I found a black lace mask in the visage of a cat, but the shop was closed. I was beginning to despair when I came across a silver and blue mask. I have never worn it. But I will one day!

At the end of the day after getting extremely lost in the maze of narrow streets, we found our way to a cosy little coffee shop and ordered Cappucinos to warm up. Sitting inside the restaurant and watching the snow gently falling outside I remember thinking that 1 day I would return for my honeymoon.
Making our way to our collection point - the Belltower, I had to stop and take this photo. It took a few tries with my little point and shoot - I had to try to stand very still so as to avoid the camera shake. I eventually managed to capture the warm glow that I always associate with Venice in my head.

The snow was falling and all around us, the sounds of the city were muted - lending to the air of romance and magic.

St Mark's Campanile