Day 1We arrived in Venice and then immediately sought out to do the nearly impossible, which was to find our hotel. Going from one point to another in Venice can be fairly complicated. There are some elements that make Venice such an attractive tourist attraction like the canals and the narrow cobblestone streets. Those same things make Venice almost impossible to maneuver around unless you are looking for a specific large tourist area where you can follow signs ... though that's not always fool proof as well. As it turns out, our hotel was sandwhiched in the smallest of streets and really wasn't on any map that we looked at. Eventually, we did find it and were able to check in.
After checking in we started walking around. Walking around when you are not looking for anything in particular is how Venice is best appreciated. Around every corner you turn is some picturesque bridge or a new canal to check out. Venice itself isn't very big, so if you just wander around aimlessly you are bound to hit up most of the main sights without trying. It's getting back to your hotel after seeing those sights that's the challenge. |
The street our hotel was on |
Eventually we made our way over to Rialto Bridge. It's one of the more famous bridges in Venice, and is lined with a series of shops. From there we made it over to St. Mark's Square which is where some of the more famous buildings in Venice are such as the Basilica and Doge's Palace.
| From there we mixed it up and got on a ferry to some of the "suburbs" of Venice, Burano and Murano. They are both small islands that are about an hour boat ride (to hit up both) from Venice. Murano is very famous for all of its glass making. We hit up a few factories and watched some glass making going on and went to multiple shops to buy souvenirs. After Murano, we headed over to Burano. Burano is famous for its lace, but to a lesser degree than Murano is for its glass. Burano is also famous for its colored houses that line its canals. |
Colleen in Burano |
Really Venice, Really?!? | After Murano and Burano, we made the attempt to try to get home. We had marked major canals on our map that our hotel was near in an effort to make things easier on ourselves. We also tried following signs to major streets, unfortunately, the signs were linked such that if you missed one sign in a chain you could end up going down the wrong street and never know it until it was too late. There were also signs that pointed you in both directions at the same time. We finally made it back to our hotel and asked the front desk for a restaurant recommendation that was close by so we wouldn't get lost walking back in the dark. They gave us one that was very close, and yes, we still got lost on the return. |
Day 2For the second day, the only thing we really had planned was to do the cliche, but necessary, gondola ride. We found the gondola launch point and got one for two and were on our way. The gondola ride was a must I have to admit. The gondola driver was weaving in and out of the canals and singing to us in Italian. I always wonder what they were singing and what it translated to ... probably something like, "I can't believe they just paid me $200 to sing Madonna covers in Italian while I stear my boat around ... that's amore." Anyway, it was a unique way to see the city and when you get back from Venice people give you dirty looks if you say you didn't go on a gondola ride so no regrets.
Gondola Ride!!! |
After the gondola ride we just walked around and enjoyed the city. At one point, right after dark, we walked through this street where a vendor was selling knock-off Louis Vuitton bags. Little did the vendor know, that we secretly wanted a bag as we had once again bought way too many souvenirs than what our bag could hold and were actually actively looking for a bag at that time ... though really didn't feel like buying one that second. He threw out a number and Trying to get him to leave us alone, I essentially sent him back his offer divided by three as a counteroffer. However, that came back to bite me because he said yes. I then said that I'd love to buy the bag, but I didn't have any cash on me. Check. He then stepped over 2 feet to the right to reveal an ATM machine which he had been slyly covering up. Check. Mate. The bag seemed quality though and we got it for insanely cheap so it was all good. It had the signature LV symbol on it, although the 'V' looked more like an 'X' so we call it our "Louie X-ton" bag for the rest of the trip.With new bag in hand, we decided to grab some dinner and call it a night. The next morning we jumped on another plane to Brussels. |
