"Come on Serene" a Venice Travel Page by rickyvilla81

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At the end of May/start of June 2001, I spent a few fabulous days in Venice, and it was like, WOW!!! Che bella, I'd never seen anywhere like it! The lack of cars and bikes is a massive plus, believe me. It's astonishing how a city like this really exists. But the thing that struck me most was the identity of the place. After all, until 1797 it had enjoyed the status of independent and wealthy - and powerful - republic for a thousand years, and you can really tell. Just look at the grandeur of the Basilica San Marco and the Palazzo Duccale - what this says is, We are proud, We are rich. This is no provincial backwater. It's the most stunning place in Europe.<p>

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Carnevale

And another great time to go is during the Carnevale - I went in February 2002 for a couple of days (I am interested in masks and was scouting for inspiration for my upcoming play). There are hordes of costumed characters filling up the narrow streets and piazzas, displaying a history of masks, each with their own persona and rank. Colourful Venice is even more so at this time of year, but the main colour we found was grey...the overpowering and enveloping <i>fog</i> will freeze your deepest bones!

So I have now been to Venice three times in three years, which is pretty cool! The first was at the end of May 2001, when the weather was balmy and I first tasted tiramisù gelato. The second was in February 2002, for the carnevale. That time it was freezing and so foggy that it was like stepping into a cloud filled with floating gondolas and incredible masked figures. And now the third time, in August of 2003 with my girlfriend Angela, where she became my fiancée..! It was way hotter and more humid than before, and I had to take a lot of showers! But what a romantic place to get engaged in! We had been the previous summer to the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, and we have decided that we will marry next year in Vegas, with an Elvis!