First Trip to Italy: Venice

Bank holiday #3... Venice! As the June holiday quickly approached, we still hadn't decided where we wanted to go until 3 or 4 days beforehand. So, I searched RyanAir for cheap flights and we settled on Venice.

I have wanted to go to Italy for as long as I can remember. If you were to ask me before we moved here, "what country in Europe would you visit first?" I would have answered Spain or Italy. I suppose I've always wanted to experience the culture, the food, the beautiful architecture and beautiful people, the weather, etc., all there is to offer! Venice was just the beginning of many trips I intend to take to Italy while we're here...

Grand Canal

I've heard people say that they don't like Venice -- that it's smelly, dirty, or not that pretty. I couldn't disagree more! It may be worse in the summer, but early June was a fantastic time to visit. Venice is unlike any place I've ever seen before... a city built entirely on water. When we first arrived in the city center, we made the amateur move of walking up to a taxi and giving the address for our hotel (again, I don't know Italian, aside from my choice Mario Bros phrases picked up from the Nintendo years, so it was a nice challenge). He just shook his head knowingly and said "no," then explained we needed to take a water taxi or walk because there are no roads. Good to know! We then proceeded to drag our luggage and get lost several times on the walk to our hotel, ha.

Venice is divided into six "Sestieri" or neighborhoods, each with their own character. We stayed in Sestiere Cannaregio, a lovely neighborhood that is close to all the tourist sites, but also more quiet and residential.

Our second day was spent visiting the nearby islands in the Venetian lagoon (which I'll cover in a separate post), but the other two were spent getting happily lost in the maze of canals and alleys, sipping prosecco in the various squares, and visiting some of the main tourist spots, i.e. Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, etc.

Rialto Bridge

Piazza San Marco

We also took a private Gondola ride on the canals, which I absolutely recommend! It's pricey, but worth it. Venice is an incredibly romantic city, and there's no better way to experience it than riding in a gondola with a bottle of wine!

Port where we hired our Gondola, near Piazza San Marco

Along with sightseeing, we had amazing Italian food. The pictures below are a few standouts from the trip... fresh caprese salad, fettucine with duck ragu, lobster gnocchi (mouth watering yet?)... and of course, gelato!! I can't get enough gelato. What's the saying? A gelato a day keeps the doctor away... busy? Ha. All bets are off on vacation!

Lastly, one of the best parts was seeing Venice at night. It's stunning! 

Such a beautiful city and also one of my favorite trips we've taken. A definite "must see" on any trip to Northern Italy.

Grand Canal at night

Ciao Venezia!