Getting lost in Venice is a good thing!

It was late at night when I arrived near Venice. I had arrived a day early, so I stopped right in front of the bridge to the island, and from the parking lot I had a wonderful view over the city. I couldn’t wait to go and visit it! That night I went to sleep feeling excited and happy: it was not going to be my first time ever in Venice, but the idea of going back to that wonderful place made me smile all night.

The next day I got up early to take the bus into the city. I fell in love with the city again, the moment I got off the bus. The city was still as romantic as I remembered, and walking through it again made me feel happy. The city has so much to offer: history, architecture, culture, art, food, romance…

The Italian school is ideally located, just a couple of minutes’ walk from the Rialto Bridge. However, the classes didn’t start till Monday, so the first thing I did on Sunday was take a trip down the Grand Canal. The views of the city were amazing, especially since it was fairly early in the morning, so the city was still so quiet and calm. When I got back on the main piazza it was already starting to get busier. I decided I wanted to see more of the city right away, but decided to do so not in the traditional way.

Every now and then I just let myself get lost in the many streets and alleys the city has! It was a great way to find new places and explore the city! A turn around a corner could surprise me with a beautiful bridge or it could be a sudden dead end. Sometimes I would find romantic little shops, undiscovered by the tourists, offering local food and delicacies. It was actually surprisingly easy to flee the crowds and enjoy the authenticity of the city, created by the locals. A city has so much more to offer than the attractions it’s supposedly famous for! I experienced that myself!When the sun sets, the city changes a lot. That evening, I found myself almost solely amongst Italians, eating in a nice small restaurant. Afterwards I went to see some of the many cafés the city has. Once again I wandered off down the narrow streets and alleyways, away from the crowds and into the unknown. It really gives the city a different perspective, and it made me fall in love with the city even more.

When I had to leave the city a week later, after a weeks of lessons and doing my best to practise my Italian at every possible opportunity, the only thing I could think of was that I wanted to go back again as soon as possible. The atmosphere in Venice is so special, it’s like no other city I ever visited before – even compared with all the other beautiful cities in bella Italia! I can’t wait to go back again.

Valerie