Venice

   Venetia este cu siguranta unul dintre locurile mele preferate din intreaga lume. De fiecare data cand pun piciorul in gara Santa Lucia, ma simt ca intr-o poveste din secolul XV....si stiu ca asta este doar inceputul. Freamatul canalelor, zgomotul barcilor cu motor si murmurul miilor de turisti aflati acolo imi umplu inima de fericire.

   Primul popas este, bineinteles, la o Gelaterie. Mereu imi place sa savurez o inghetata de iaurt...nicaieri in lume nu am mancat o inghetata de iaurt mai buna ca in Venetia. O recomand 100%.
   In Venetia trebuie sa te lasi purtat de farmecul orasului..nu iti trebuie o harta ca sa ajungi la Piazza San Marco.trebuie doar sa te indrepti acolo unde te duc pasii, sa admiri frumusetile arhitecturale specifice venetiene si sa te lasi privit de multitudinea de masti pe langa care te perinzi....

   Ceea ce este cu adevarat minunat este faptul ca Venetia nu se schimba de la un an la altul. Peste acest oras miriric, timpul nu trece....traditiile, gondolierii, cladirile colorate si balcoanele pline de flori au fost si vor ramane la fel mult timp de acum incolo. 

  De data asta am ajuns aici alaturi de colegii mei de la Emirates, persoane pe care le cunosteam de 5 ore dar cu care parca eram prietena de-o viata. Asa este jobul de cabin crew...in 24 de ore te imprietenesti, povestesti vrute si nevrute, cutreieri diferite parti ale lumii si te desparti..o prietenie ce se  consuma in numai 24 de ore...ciudat, nu? Si totusi...cat de multe poti cunoaste si explora intr-o singura zi! Ai timp sa si dormi, sa si mananci, sa si vizitezi si de ce sa nu recunosc, mereu gasim timp si pentru putin shopping ( mai ales noi, fetele ).
   De indata ce am ajuns la hotel am pornit in inspectie impreuna cu 7 colege si singurul barbat norocos..co-pilotul :). Nu se putea sa nu ne oprim la un restaurant pe malul Gran Canale, unde am savurat o pizza si un pahar de vin alb. Nu stiu cum o fac, dar este delicioasa!
 Ziua ne-am petrecut-o plimbandu-ne toti pe stradutele  minunate pana cand am ajuns la Piazza San Marco. Grandoarea Palatului Dogilor si frumusetea nemaintanita a Pietei ma face mereu sa ma gandesc cat de norocosi suntem noi, oamenii ca avem sansa sa admiram inca operele Renasterii.

  Dupa ce ne-am pozat cu porumbeii, am decis sa ne asezam la o terasa si sa bem ceva. Fiecare terasa era acompaniata de o mini-orchestra care canta muzica live..tot ce pot sa spun este ca a fost minunat! Simturile mi-au fost mangaiate, fiecare in parte de o muzica superba, o priveliste perfecta si o atmosfera de poveste. Si ca sa incheiem seara si mai frumos, am luat cu totii barca pana la statia centrala de unde am alergat sa prindem ultimul autobuz inapoi spre hotel.

   Este o traditie pentru mine sa cumpar o masca si o pereche de cercei, de fiecare data cand ajung la Venetia. Astfel, a doua zi dis-de-dimineata m-am apucat sa hoinaresc, de data asta singura, pe stradutele intortocheate, in cautarea mastii mele cu numarul 3. Dupa vreo doua ore de umblat, negociat, am ales o castigatoare. Bineinteles ca acum troneaza la mine pe perete. Mi-am zis ca nu pot pleca inpoi spre Dubai fara sa mai gust o data din celebra inghetata de iaurt..

  Asa ca daca cumva, ati vazut intr-o zi insorita in Venetia, o fetita fericita cu o inghetata maaaaree de iaurt si o masca cu pene...eu eram aceea :)

Pentru poze, click aici.

   English

Venice is definitely one of my favorite places around the world. Every time I found myself in Santa Lucia train station, I feel like in a fifteenth century story .... and I know this is just the beginning. Rustle channels, noise of motor boats and thousands of tourists whispering fill my heart with joy.

   First stop is, of course, an ice cream stand. I always like to enjoy an italian gelato ... I have never ate a yogurt-flavoured ice-cream better than in Venice. I recommend it 100%.
   In Venice you should go with the flow .. you do not need a map to get to Piazza San Marco. Just go where your steps take you to,  admire the beauty of  theVenetian architecture and allow all that lovely masks to watch you  ....

   What is really wonderful is that Venice does not change from year to year. Over this magical city, time does not pass by .... traditions, gondoliers, colorful buildings and balconies full of flowers have been and will remain the same long time from now on.

  This time I came here with my colleagues at the Emirates, people I've known for only 5 hours  but they were like my lifetime friends. This is the job of cabin crew.. in 24 hours you get to make friends, share everything with them, wander in different parts of the world and break up .. all this happen in just 24 hours ... weird, huh? And yet ... how much you get to explore in one day!You  have time to sleep and eat and visit and why not admit that we always find time for a little bit of shopping (especially us girls).
   As soon as I reached the hotel I started the Venice experience with 7 colleagues and only one lucky guy ..the First Officer :) . We could not pass by some restaurant on the shores of Gran Canale and not stop for a pizza and a glass of white wine. I do not know how they do it, but it is delicious!
 We spent the rest of the day walking on the streets  until we reached the Piazza San Marco.  The grandeur of the Doges Palace and the beauty of Piazza San Marco  always makes me  think how lucky we,people, are,  that we still have the chance to admire the works of the Renaissance.

  After we took lots of photos with the pigeons, we decided to sit on a terrace and have a drink. Each terrace was accompanied by a mini-orchestra, playing live music .. all I can say is that it was awesome! My senses were comforted,  superb music, a perfect view and a fairytale atmosphere. And to end the night in a nice way, we all took the boat that got us to the central station where we ran to catch the last bus that took us back to hotel.



   It is a tradition for me to buy a mask and a pair of earrings, each time I go to Venice. Thus, the next day, early in the morning I started to wander,alone this time,on the winding streets, looking for my mask No. 3. After about two hours of walking, negotiating, I chose a winner. Of course now the mask is to be found on my wall. I told myself that i can't  go back to Dubai without having once again the taste the famous ice cream yogurt ..

  So if somehow, you saw on a sunny day in Venice, a happy little girl with a biiiiig  yogurt flavoured ice-cream and a mask with feathers ... I was her :)For pictures, click here.