My favorite experience through our entire trip was "getting lost in Venice".
I absolutely fell in love with this floating city!
We began with a water taxi down the Grand Canal just after dusk. Entering the city with all of the lights reflecting across the water was fantastic. Ryan and I opted to sit on the couch in the back of the taxi while most chose to sit indoors. It was a magical first impression!
Once we landed, we had a prearranged gondola ride that we boarded immediately. They sang to us through the dimly lit canals for 45 minutes as they rowed with their voices echoing through the narrow streets. I have never experienced anything as romantic and whimsical. It was definitely an experience I wouldn't pass up!
Next up, Ryan and I sampled cannolis and Italian desserts from almost every local shop open, we purchased souvenirs and wandered through the streets and plazas taking in the sights of Venice at night. We started near the Piazza San Marco, wandered through the Merceria (high-end shopping district), and that's when it happened - we found ourselves at the Rialto Bridge when we needed to be at the Bridge of Sighs! Our water taxi back to the hotel was leaving in 10 minutes and we had wandered a bit too far. As we tried to make our way back we literally became "lost in Venice" and had to stop at a grocery store to ask for directions. Luckily there was a man who spoke English and helped us navigate through the winding streets! We didn't quite make it back in time for the scheduled departure, but the group we had cruised over with were accommodating and waited for us to get back.
TRAVEL TIP: While staying inside Venice proper is quite expensive, I would recommend paying the additional money for that experience. We did save a few dollars by staying in a hotel just outside of the city, but next time I would absolutely opt to stay right on the canals.
The next morning we awoke to a cold, foggy Venice. We boarded our water taxi and landed just down from The Bridge of Sighs. We had a guided tour with headsets and we began by learning how the Bridge of Sighs connects the prison to the interrogation rooms in Doge's Palace. We continued past the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana and heard saw the Renaissance-era architecture, and concluded our walking tour in the Piazza San Marco.
Our guide informed us of the significance of the two columns that stood in front of the Piazetta. The first column has a sculpture of St. Theodore, the former saint of Venice, while the second column has a winged lion - The Lion of Venice, which symbolizes the current saint of Venice, St. Mark. Many people do not like to walk between the columns as public executions were once held in that space.
TRAVEL TIP: While the guided tour was wonderful, next time I will bring a guidebook and do my own walking tour of Venice. I felt that a lot of the history was great to hear, but everything is so compact, that it's easy to maneuver from one section to the next, and there was not much outside information that a travel book couldn't provide. That way we would have more time to focus on the sights that meant more to us.
Then, we went towards St. Mark's Basilica and the Campanile. Unfortunately, we did not have time to climb to the top of the Campanile on this trip, but I'm sure I will be back someday! I always love to view the city from the highest point possible for a different perspective.
Finally, Venice and it's surrounding areas are known for hand-blown glass so we decided to take a short tour inside a glass-blowing gallery to see the process. The artistry that goes into each piece making it unique was fascinating. I also enjoyed hearing how the business was passed down from generation to generation. We ended up leaving this tour early as they moved us from the factory into the showroom, because with limited time in Venice I couldn't stand staying indoors any longer!
TRAVEL TIP: The glass-blowing demonstration was wonderful. However, if you had to pick between climbing the Campanile or the glass-blowing demonstration I would absolutely choose the Campanile in retrospect. The glass was wonderful, but it felt more along the lines of a sales pitch.
Ryan and I grabbed a quick bite of pizza and walked back to The Rialto Bridge to take a few photos, see the farmers' market and walk through the narrow streets in daylight. All of it was amazing! I loved every second.
I was still in awe of our gondola ride the night before, so we found a gondolier who would work with us a bit on the price, another advantage of off-season travel, and set out for a daytime gondola ride. I'm so glad we did this as it was a completely different experience in the daytime from the nighttime gondola ride! We began in the back canals by the Merceria and he rowed us out onto the Grand Canal under the Rialto Bridge, under the Bridge of Sighs and even by the respective homes of Casanova and Vivaldi. I couldn't have asked for anything better! There was hardly any boat traffic being the winter season and he gave us a warm blanket to share as we explored Venice via canal.
TRAVEL TIP: I would absolutely recommend doing both a nighttime gondola ride as well as a daytime ride. The nighttime ride was surreal with the gondolier singing across the canals, but the daytime ride, while included a bit of singing, was more of a private informational sightseeing tour of Venice.
We had just enough time after our gondola ride to grab a bit more food! The restaurant I had wanted to eat at, Alfredo's, was going to open later that day, so we weren't able to try it out but we had a great pasta and pizza meal nearby at a family-run restaurant. We weren't disappointed!
In all, I think Venice is a city to explore on your own. The magic of it comes from soaking in the atmosphere and wandering through the cobblestone streets lining the canals. I can't wait until I can plan my return trip! Ciao Venice!
TRAVEL TIP: While staying inside Venice proper is quite expensive, I would recommend paying the additional money for that experience. We did save a few dollars by staying in a hotel just outside of the city, but next time I would absolutely opt to stay right on the canals.
Our guide informed us of the significance of the two columns that stood in front of the Piazetta. The first column has a sculpture of St. Theodore, the former saint of Venice, while the second column has a winged lion - The Lion of Venice, which symbolizes the current saint of Venice, St. Mark. Many people do not like to walk between the columns as public executions were once held in that space.
TRAVEL TIP: While the guided tour was wonderful, next time I will bring a guidebook and do my own walking tour of Venice. I felt that a lot of the history was great to hear, but everything is so compact, that it's easy to maneuver from one section to the next, and there was not much outside information that a travel book couldn't provide. That way we would have more time to focus on the sights that meant more to us.
Then, we went towards St. Mark's Basilica and the Campanile. Unfortunately, we did not have time to climb to the top of the Campanile on this trip, but I'm sure I will be back someday! I always love to view the city from the highest point possible for a different perspective.
Finally, Venice and it's surrounding areas are known for hand-blown glass so we decided to take a short tour inside a glass-blowing gallery to see the process. The artistry that goes into each piece making it unique was fascinating. I also enjoyed hearing how the business was passed down from generation to generation. We ended up leaving this tour early as they moved us from the factory into the showroom, because with limited time in Venice I couldn't stand staying indoors any longer!
TRAVEL TIP: The glass-blowing demonstration was wonderful. However, if you had to pick between climbing the Campanile or the glass-blowing demonstration I would absolutely choose the Campanile in retrospect. The glass was wonderful, but it felt more along the lines of a sales pitch.
Ryan and I grabbed a quick bite of pizza and walked back to The Rialto Bridge to take a few photos, see the farmers' market and walk through the narrow streets in daylight. All of it was amazing! I loved every second.
I was still in awe of our gondola ride the night before, so we found a gondolier who would work with us a bit on the price, another advantage of off-season travel, and set out for a daytime gondola ride. I'm so glad we did this as it was a completely different experience in the daytime from the nighttime gondola ride! We began in the back canals by the Merceria and he rowed us out onto the Grand Canal under the Rialto Bridge, under the Bridge of Sighs and even by the respective homes of Casanova and Vivaldi. I couldn't have asked for anything better! There was hardly any boat traffic being the winter season and he gave us a warm blanket to share as we explored Venice via canal.
TRAVEL TIP: I would absolutely recommend doing both a nighttime gondola ride as well as a daytime ride. The nighttime ride was surreal with the gondolier singing across the canals, but the daytime ride, while included a bit of singing, was more of a private informational sightseeing tour of Venice.
We had just enough time after our gondola ride to grab a bit more food! The restaurant I had wanted to eat at, Alfredo's, was going to open later that day, so we weren't able to try it out but we had a great pasta and pizza meal nearby at a family-run restaurant. We weren't disappointed!
In all, I think Venice is a city to explore on your own. The magic of it comes from soaking in the atmosphere and wandering through the cobblestone streets lining the canals. I can't wait until I can plan my return trip! Ciao Venice!
xo, Caitlin.
No comments:
Post a Comment