A Roman Holiday

by docdivatraveller - 9/09/2016

Actually the title should be a Venetian holiday. But I seemed to like the heading so much that I did not change it! Even before one trip is over, we have plans for the next trip. We usually start dreaming about the next destination. But sometimes dreams come true and other times not. While we were vacationing in Greece, we had been thinking about Italy. But of course it was subject to terms and conditions.

We started saving after we came back. We Indians have a lot of baggage (very unlike Westerners who simply leave their job for travelling and spend all their savings) We think about savings, children's future, etc etc. So planning a trip abroad requires a lot of money as well as savings and plannings. My husband even thought of postponing it for a year but I really wanted to go. Our plans finally started coming true when we booked our air tickets in June. I desperately started counting the days when my grandma fell acutely ill. It was just a day to our trip when we did not know whether we would be able to leave or not. A detailed post on how we dealt with the uncertainties and finally left for Netherlands is here.

This journey was a must for our well being (or at least I think so). After coming back from Greece and Turkey we had been in a non stop working mode. There had been three short trips in the meantime but we needed a break badly. A vacation is therapeutic. However we two are the last ones to think that way. For us a trip is about sweating out and sleeping as minimal as possible to extract the essence of that place.

Our trip had six stops in 14 days so you can imagine how hectic it was. In all the places we booked hotels or B and B's in city centres to avoid any time waste in commuting. As we all know city centres can't give a pool/ garden properties. I needed that too. So we decided to book a place outside the city centre in none other than my dream city Venice.

To some extent it was a mistake. I mean Venice is the land of canals, bridges and narrow alleys. Our resort was in Marghera which was an absolutely new, planned city. However I just let myself forget that we were in Venice and tried to unwind which I had been so much looking forward to.

Our resort or Village was a really vast area...more than 600 cottages! In the afternoon after we reached Venice, I just decided not to look at the watch. I mean our schedules were packed with our excursion to Burano island. But I decided to take a dip in the pool and just chill.

We got to stay in an individual cottage which we had never done before. It had a cute patio where we could have breakfast. Sadly we were too short of time to enjoy a 'vacation'. When I dipped into the pool with blaring music in the background, I forgot all my worries. Forgot that my daughter was missing me, forgot that my grandma was ill and forgot all the tense things back home. Even if it was for a few minutes, I needed it! I am a human too!

Husband was furious that I spent more than allotted time in the pool. He accused me of missing out the important things in Venice. Thankfully I did not listen to him and enjoyed the pool. The next two mornings we had to leave very early. And the pool opened at 9 in the morning. So if I would have listened to him, I would have missed the fun altogether!

The pool was bustling with youngsters. It seemed that we were the only ones who were in late twenties. People went crazy in the water. Later at night when we came back a pool party was going on till late in the night. The drinking and the dancing were exactly like the ones we see in movies! It was absolutely new for us!

Though I curse myself for staying so far from the real Venice, this break was a much needed one for both of us!