After cruising around Europe, Lorna Riley had experienced many delights but nothing compared to the life-changing surprise that awaited in Venice
A lovestruck Romeo sang the streets a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
The Dire Straits song has been running through my head all day, ever since our tour guide mentioned that we’re not far from Verona, where Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is set.
My partner Mike and I are at the tail end of a wonderful Mediterranean Odyssey: a 13-day, six-country cruise aboard Viking Sky and I feel we’ve saved the best for last with an overnight stay in Venice.
We’ve opted for a day-long Viking excursion that takes in two beautiful Venetian islands, Murano and Burano – but I’ll be honest and say I’m only really interested in the former, having collected vintage Murano art glass for decades. So it’s with excitement that we board a smaller vessel for a leisurely cruise along the Giudecca Canal, passing famed St Mark’s Square and Doge’s Palace, before docking at the place nicknamed “Island of the Flames” (all of Venice’s glassmaking was moved to Murano in 1291 to reduce the risk of fires in the city) – a moment I’ve imagined for so very long.
Still humming, we dock outside family-run Ferro & Lazzerini, one of the leading glass manufacturers here but a relative baby at just 96 years of age. It’s a privilege to watch a master craftsman at work, heating blobs of glass in a furnace and skilfully turning them into stunning artworks. We’re given plenty of time afterwards to peruse the labyrinthine gallery showroom: space after space of glittering chandeliers, sculptures, vases and jewellery, a feast for the senses and terribly tempting for a magpie eye like mine. However, it’s not me but Mike who eventually crumbles to our persuasive assistant’s patter, selecting a water jug and glasses set, plus an abstract sculpture in jewel colours to ship home.
Mike making some tough choices when shopping for vintage Murano art glass. Photo / Lorna Riley
When you can fall for chains of silver
You can fall for chains of gold
The next stop on our tour is Burano, a charming island lined with bright pastel houses. Even the rain can’t dampen our enthusiasm for the quaint cobblestone streets and picturesque bridges; we learn about Venice’s lace-making industry, peruse boutiques stacked with bright clothing, and admire a multitude of Venetian masks. We’re also surprised to see that Burano, like Pisa, has its own leaning tower, the bell tower of the 16th-century Church of San Martino.
Finds a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, “You and me, babe, how about it?”
I’m so entranced by this charming island that I don’t really notice Mike has steered me into the centre of a particularly pretty bridge until I see he is looking at me with intent. He quotes the song that’s been running through my head (“You and me babe - how ‘bout it?”) and before I can mention the coincidence, he’s proposed to me. I should be surprised: we’ve only been dating for five months, and while we’ve discussed marriage, we’d agreed we needed more time. Instead, in this most romantic of places, on the greyest of days, I give the immediate answer that’s in my heart: oh yes!
We take a photo, a terrible selfie of this most wonderful moment before a passing stranger offers to snap us. We say nothing about what has just transpired, though they possibly wonder why we’re grinning like fools with slightly damp eyes that owe nothing to the drizzle. Then we duck into a cicchetteria, the Venetian version of a tapas bar, filled with high-spirited locals and two Kiwis toasting their newly-affianced state with the finest Prosecco euros can buy.
Lorna and her fiance Mike in Venice, minutes after his proposal. Photo / Lorna Riley
Juliet, when we made love, you used to cry
You said “I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you ‘til I die”
It’s easy to fall in love in Venice – and easy to fall in love with Venice, “La Serenissima”, the fairytale floating city of canals, bridges and gondoliers. It’s our final day, and we want to make the most of it. After disembarking from our cruise of a lifetime, we head straight for the airport where we pay a small amount for our luggage to be stored, before taking a hair-raising cab ride to as close to the heart of Venice as our driver can get us.
Then we’re on foot, traversing crowded bridges and cobbled streets, pausing for gelato here and espresso there, and watching the action on the Grand Canal. It’s a little choppy for a gondola ride, however, and we’ve been warned that the rising tide may flood St Marks Square, so we head there straight away, passing pasticceria with brightly coloured meringues the size of watermelons on the way. Up close, St Mark’s Basilica is as impressive as its reputation, with gilded frescos and intricate masonry; the adjoining Doge’s Palace, the former heart of the Venetian Republic, is a perfectly preserved example of Venetian Gothic architecture, all arches and columns, with parts of the magnificent building dating back to 1340; and we pose in front of the impressive Clock Tower before leaving Piazza San Marco.
We make time for a memorable lunch at Lione D’Or (The
The bridge of sighs in Venice. Photo / Lorna Riley
Golden Lion), satisfying customers’ taste buds since 1888, and afterwards enjoy music from a classical trio at a nearby trattoria, before viewing the notorious Bridge of Sighs, giving convicts their last view of Venice before their imprisonment, and given its own apt name by Lord Byron.
Rather than risk another white-knuckle cab ride, Mike suggests we catch a private water taxi to Marco Polo Airport. Yes, it’s expensive, but we’ve heard that a licence for such a craft costs Venetians up to €1 million (though that licence can then be passed through families). Known by Venetians as a “motoscafo” with beautiful lines and iconoclastic style, the Venetian water taxi is the preferred mode of travel when you want to feel like a celebrity. We have the boat to ourselves and eschew the luxury cabin in preference to riding alfresco, ducking our heads under low bridges then watching the iconic buildings of Venice recede. This magical city has been such a special place in my head for such a long time; now I know it’ll reside in my heart forever, along with that classic song.
