October 18-20, 2018

The Milan trip was short but only because we wanted to fit in Venice as well before heading to Paris. Earlier this year, we went to Italy for our honeymoon. We got to see many cities then but didn’t really touch the north part of Italy. With it being so easy to get to Italy from Zurich, we couldn’t resist but try to see as much as we could within our week off. So off to Venice we go!

Venice is known for its canals and winding streets. When we first arrived there, we checked into our AirBnB that was located off the island of Venice. It would of been nice to stay on the island but as you could guess, it would’ve been more expensive. Luckily, from where we were staying to the island, it was an easy bus ride of just ten minutes.

The island of Venice is small but also can be very confusing. There are so many winding road ways that are random and far from a grid. At the time we went, there were a fair bit of tourist but I wouldn’t say it was crazy packed. When we first got to the island our first afternoon, we headed to Rielto Bridge but first stopped in San Rocco. The church was small but very ornate inside.

The Rielto Bridge is the most famous bridge in Venice island. It is very beautiful, white, ornate, full of shops and people and over looks the Gran Canal. Next to the bridge, there was a large duty free shop. Our AirBnB host had given us a tip of a free view of the island from the top of the duty free department store. Free view of the island? Yes please! The view was really awesome. You could see the Gran Canal wrap around the tight neighborhoods. It was unfortunate we couldn’t stay up there longer (there was a staff member keeping time on the groups that came up) but I guess it was free so we couldn’t be so upset.

A nice thing on the island was the yellow signs. What are the yellow signs? I’m not sure the origin but there are signs on the streets that basically tell you where the big monuments of Venice are. So following those signs, we went to check out San Marco Plaza. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it before sunset and it was pretty dark by the time we got there. What was pretty amazing though was seeing Basilica di San Marco, even at night. It was huge and so decorated. Along the plaza there were also many restaurants with soft yellow light, illuminating the patio tables. It was a pretty romantic place to be, soft lighting, live music playing, and the most beautiful backdrop of the basilica.

We were very lucky to have a great host who gave us lots of local tips and suggestions for food! We checked out Al Timon for dinner for some Italian style tapas. We had a really good dinner that started with a plate of cichetto (italian tapas) for appetizer followed by first course of a red sauce seafood homemade pasta, with yellowtail fish as second dish. We also really enjoyed our first time in Venice by having some red wine with dinner. All this for about 60 euros!

There are many perks to food in Italy but one of our favorites is GELATO! So what a perfect way to end a delicious meal and travel day with some delicious Italian gelato! Soon after, we walked across the Constitution Bridge, which was very modern compared to everything else on the island, and headed back to rest up for the next day.

Our second and last day, we wanted to do as much as possible. It does suck when our visits are so short but we try to make the most of it. When we came to Venice, we didn’t really have a game plan as to what to do and see. Luckily, like I mentioned before, our host was super helpful and knowledgeable about the island and things to do in and around the island. She had suggested the two neighboring islands of Murano and Burano. We had never heard of them before but with a full day, we decided to check them out.

The route of the ferry first stopped at Murano. So off we went! Murano is known for their glass. When we first got off the ferry, we heard a man telling us about a free glass blowing factory we could go have a look at. If this place was known for glass, we had to go check out where they made it right? When we arrived, we got to see some glass masters blowing glass, making cups, vases and paper weights. The items were pretty cool to see but they would be difficult to travel with. The weight and fragility just make it too difficult.

The island was pretty small and we just walked the main canal checking out some of the glass shops before jumping on the ferry to head to Burano.

Burano was visually a more appealing island. This place was known for their brightly colored houses and lace. It was amazing! Literally every single house was painted a bright, fun color! I kept thinking, “This place is an Instagrammers dream!” Everywhere you looked, there were people trying to snap the perfect picture. Us included!

Late afternoon, we headed back to Venice to try to catch some sights before the sun went down.

After a late lunch of pizza, we walked around a bit before heading to our gondola ride tour time. It may be super touristy thing to do, but it’s like seeing the Eiffel Tower when you go to Paris, you  just have to ride in a gondola on the canals when you go to Venice!

Since we purchased our tour online, it wasn’t a personal experience. We shared the gondola with four other people. It was pretty cool to ride along the canals but I kept feeling like the boat would tip over! The man controlling the boat from the back was skilled to stand and just freely move about. Along with the uneasy feeling, there was also a lot of water traffic. Gondola’s everywhere! What I really did enjoy though, was it was sunset and the water and buildings looked really beautiful.

Another really interesting place on the island was Acqua Alta Bookshop. The book store was filled to the brim with old and new books. Along with books, there were posters, postcards, old photographs, magnets, and even two shop cats! While roaming the winding roads of Venice, you pass by many shops! Shops selling everything from masks, to souvenirs, to large candies, clothes and shoes! I was so lucky to find this local shoe shop with the owner working the shop. We spent some time there, chatting up with the owner and walking out with two new pairs of Italian leather shoes. Thanks hubby!

For our last dinner in Venice, we got a nice recommendation from the shoe owner as a place to eat. The place was crowded and we had no reservation but thankfully they made space for us. We were right next to a French couple, thankfully they didn’t seem to be too bothered by sharing a table with us. The restaurant was bustling with people, food and servers. We ordered a caprese salad (buffalo mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil – cheese was very good but didn’t top the one we had in Amalfi!), a seafood pasta (pretty good, had shrimp in the shell, clams and mussels, but not homemade pasta), liver and polenta. Polenta and liver is famous dish for Venice so we ordered it. I, personally don’t like liver but this had sautéed onions which made it better..also having bread with it helps too. To top off the meal, we had a delicious tiramisu! All that for about 60 euros. Not too shabby!

Our last afternoon, before our flight to Paris, we decided to quickly go back on the island for one last meal. We found this cute little place with a lovely outdoor seating area. The food was not bad. Mostly, I was happy to be able to see the island once more before leaving.

 

Venice was everything we hoped it would be. We were so lucky to have good weather, not over flowing canals, beautiful sights and full bellies. Italy is of course one of my top countries and the beauty of Venice definitely contributed to that! I would highly recommend this charming place!!

 

If you like moving images more, CLICK HERE for our video from our time in Venice, Burano and Murano.

 

Off to Paris!

 

xx
t.