Spritz, Venice and a Romance along the Canals

“To build a city where it is impossible to build one is madness itself, but to build there one of the most elegant and grandest cities is the madness of a genius.” And we couldn’t agree any more with Alexander Herzen's description of Venice. The Floating City, The City of Bridges, The City of Canals, The Queen of Adriatic and many other names that Venice goes by, stand testament to its rich geographical, cultural, and architectural history.

Besides being a popular tourist destination, Venice is also ranked the most romantic city in the world and an ideal honeymoon destination. Endless canals, blue lagoons, exquisite architecture, narrow streets and even the air in Venice conjures the idea of an exuberant romance. There is an unparalleled charm in taking a wrong turn in the maze of canals and getting lost in the narrow streets or calli, as the Venetians call it; crossing various beautiful bridges, pausing to click a photograph or making love at each canal crossing and finally exiting at one of the many piazzas of the city.

There is more than just romance to this city. Venice is for tourists, travellers and lovebirds alike—a perfect place to fall in love, propose to your better half or just relish the best that life has to offer. When in Venice, nothing beats the pleasure of enjoying a traditional Venetian Spritz cocktail; even better, having it in a local Bacaro alongside the Grand Canal whilst adoring the slow and gentle sound of water splashing against the shore after the sunset.

Rightly deemed as the symbol of a truly Venetian aperitif, the coral-hued effervescent Spritz Veneziano is reminiscent of a languorous summer evening spent on a Venetian patio, gazing at seagulls and watching the sunset on the distant horizon. Its complex botanical flavour, infused with rhubarb roots and barks, vanilla, cardamom, ginger and citric juniper berries is a revelation, which travellers come seeking from afar.

It isn’t just us; even Venetians are all in awe of their spritz, which is why they have their own style of pronouncing Spritz. They call it Spreez (without the T sound). To sound like a native Venetian, practice speaking “Spreez” before entering a local Bacaro, the Venetians would love you for it.

If you are simply looking for where to drink Select spritz in Venice, skip major canal-side restaurants or popular touristy pubs, instead go to any small local pub. But if you are daring enough to set on a “Spritz Trail,” which is another unique thing to do in Venice, venture inside the callis, explore the less-touristy neighbourhoods or simply follow a group of gondoliers after the sunset. Because in Venice, if you come across a group of gondoliers enjoying an aperitif, be assured their drink would be a ruby red Venetian Spritz.

As the saying goes, “A traveller enters the world into which he travels, but a tourist brings his own world with him and never sees the one he’s in.” To appreciate Venice, one must enter as a traveller, because Venice doesn’t quite reveal itself to anyone who is awed by its mere glimpse. Indeed! In the words of Arthur William Symons, a British poet, critic and magazine editor, “a realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him.” So what are you waiting for, grab your partner’s hand and head to Venice, where a romance along the canals awaits you.

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