Venice (Venezia in Italian) is a major tourist destination in Italy and perhaps tops the list as one of the most charming cities in the world. It lies in northern Italy’s Veneto region alongside with other provinces: Verona, Padua, Vicenza and Treviso. When I think of Venice, these movies come to mind: The Tourist (Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp), Chasing Liberty (Mandy Moore & Matthew Goode) and Only You (Robert Downey Jr. & Marisa Tomei). Add to that George Clooney’s wedding! For me, the calmness of the canals and the soothing gondola rides best characterize love and romance. This is probably why Venice is also known as the City of Love. Our friends had their 25th wedding anniversary recently and so we picked Venice to celebrate the occasion. Myself, Joey and 5 other friends traversed the alleys, ran into hits & misses, and learned new stories about this city. City of Canals Simply put, Venice is a city built on water; it has no roads. There are nearly 200 canals, with Grand Canal as the largest, separating the city into over 100 islands (www.darkrome.com). To navigate between the islands, there are 400 bridges (Ponte in Italian) while to cross the Grand Canal, there are only 4 bridges. There are no motorized transports allowed in the city; hence, these canals serve as ‘roads’ in Venice. When I first stepped foot in Venice, I wasn’t surprised why the city draws millions and millions of visitors each year. I was greeted by its enchanting waters, stunning architecture, mysterious passageways, harmonized with clear blue skies, it has all the elements of a perfect backdrop for every romantic setting. Of the 4 bridges to cross the Grand Canal, I would say that the Rialto Bridge is the most beautiful bridge. It’s apparently the oldest bridge and one of the most popular tourist spots in Venice. The bridge was closed during our visit as it was undergoing renovation yet the area was still laden with shops. Do It Yourself (DIY) Tours As with other tourist destinations, there are several things to do and see in Venice. I saw tour companies offering walking tours and Grand Canal boat tours, but they are just too pricey! To scale-down costs, instead of taking the guided Grand Canal Tour, we bought an ACTV ticket which was valid for 24 hours, hop-on hop-off type, on vaporetto (water bus) in the City of Venice. It costed us €20 each, as opposed to €48 for an hour of Grand Canal boat tour. We bought the ACTV tickets from our hotel’s reception desk. Expectation vs. Reality Before coming to Venice, I imagined myself and Joey on a gondola ride, sipping a glass of wine while being serenaded by the gondolier. And yet again, Venice is an expensive city. For a 30- minute gondola ride, it would have been a whopping €80 for both us. We wanted to catch a traghetto as an alternative to a gondola experience. A traghetto is also a public transport and exactly looks like a gondola, but undecorated. For €2, it is technically the “5th” way to cross the Grand Canal. Now, that is what I call a bargain. However, our routes were not anywhere close to a traghetto pier. We let it go and settled with our ACTV tickets. Get 10% back from your Hotel Booking when clicking this button -> The Usual Things to Do With our ACTV ticket, we cruised to St. Mark’s Square where most of the attractions are found: 1. Visit St. Mark's Basilica. We lined up to get inside the Basilica. It is said that in January 828, the relics believed to be the body of St. Mark (the Gospel Evangelist) was brought from Alexandria (Egypt) to Venice (www.basilicasanmarco.it). Placing his body in this Basilica in led the way to making St. Mark as the city’s patron saint. Photography is not allowed inside the Basilica. 2. Pose for photos in St Mark's Square (with the pigeons if they are there). The Square is just in front of the Basilica. We were there early so the area was less crowded. When we came back during sunset, this place was flocked with pigeons and tourists that it was nearly impossible to pose for photos. Take note that feeding pigeons is banned in Venice since 2008 and there are fines for ignoring the ban. 3. Marvel at the Doge’s Palace. The Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale in Italian) was the home of the Doge, the ruler of Venice. This was the seat of power and where important decisions concerning the political and public affairs of the Venetian Republic were made. When the Republic fell on 1797, Venice was subjected to French rule, then Austrian, and eventually, in 1866 when it became part of a united Italy. The Doge's Palace was converted as a museum in 1923 (www.palazzoducale.visitmuve.it). 4. See the Bridge of Sighs. Located near St. Mark’s Square, this bridge was always full of tourists. But what really is this bridge? This bridge connects the Doge’s Palace and the New Prisons. Legend has it that the name came about when sighs of desperation were exhaled by captives crossing the bridge as they were taken down to their cells. They sighed because that was their final glimpse of the beauty of Venice. The Unusual Things to Do I can imagine the number of guide books created for the usual things to do in Venice. Here is our list of the “unusuals”. This is Joey’s and my kind of Venice, as we like it, when we like it. 1. Look festive with a Venetian mask. Carnival is one of the biggest celebrations in Venice and takes place in the days leading up to Lent (40 days) when Roman Catholics start to abstain from meat. The word carnival comes from the Latin words carne and vale, meaning “farewell to meat”. During the carnival season, stylish, colorful, and elaborate masks are worn in parties and masquerade balls around the city. 2. Step into James Bond’s World. Joey is so into James Bond, that he well-spotted this familiar site near the Rialto Bridge. These houses were featured in the movie Casino Royale which was released in 2006. Towards the end of the movie, Bond follows Vesper into a house that is undergoing renovation and thus held by inflatable balloons. In his pursuit, Bond shoots and punctures the balloons causing the house to slowly sink into the Grand Canal. That’s a score, Joey! 3. Walk over the arching bridge. 4. Soak in the tranquillity of Venice at night. 5. Get lost.The bridges and alleys look the same so it is easy to get lost. Look for the Grand Canal to find your way back. How to Get There There are two airports in Venice: (1) Marco Polo Airport, (2) Treviso Airport. From the airports, shuttle buses are available to bring you to the island; the last stop is the Piazzale Roma. When arriving from Marco Polo airport, you can also board a water taxi directly to your hotel since this airport is just sitting next to the Venetian lagoon. Our group arrived in Rome and took a high-speed train to Venice. Then, we flew out via Marco Polo Airport. Where to Stay Venice, the island, has only one train station, the Venezia Santa Lucia. While checking suitable hotels, Venezia Mestre station appeared in my searches. Hotels near Venezia Mestre offer good value and are decent, but these are in the mainland and nowhere close to Venice island! I made a mistake here since I picked Venezia Mestre station as our stop, coming from Rome. So, we took another 10-minute train ride to Venezia Santa Lucia station. As there are only 4 bridges to cross the Grand Canal, and I doubt if a traghetto would accept huge luggage when crossing the canal, I picked a hotel close to 1 of the 4 bridges. We stayed at Hotel Carlton, just across Venezia Santa Lucia station and close to Scalzi Bridge. The cost was €140 per night with breakfast. What to Eat Reward yourself with a delicious gelato. Our eyes got hooked to mounds of colorful gelato so we made a quick stop and treated ourselves to a scoop. A scoop costed €2; I had the chocolate and Joey had the pistachio flavor. I’m not a big fan of gelato, so I could not say whether it was authentic or not. But well, we were in Italy so I thought it was the closest thing to an authentic one. Take a sweet bite of the cannoli. Cannoli is a traditional dessert of Sicily. Shells shaped like tubes are fried and then filled with ricotta cheese but more and more variations have become available like vanilla, or chocolate. Indulge in a hearty Italian meal. We ate lunch just across our hotel. Joey had the Spaghetti in Nero di Seppia, which is a pasta with cuttlefish in its blank ink sauce. I had the Pizza Margherita while our friends had the seafood pasta. We asked for side plates so we can share and taste all the dishes we ordered. The meal was insanely delicious. The pasta noodles were made by hand and not the typical dried pasta we get from the supermarkets. The seafood ingredients were the restaurant’s fresh “catch of the day”. Our bill was €107 but it was all worth it. On the side, when looking at the menu, make sure you read the fine print especially when it comes to seafood. Restaurants typically charge € per 100 grams. Thus, the price in the menu may be only for 100 grams and not the price of the entire dish. Also, I was warned by my Italian friend that it is costly to drink coffee sitting down in a restaurant; so better take your coffee to-go. We stayed for 2 nights in Venice. It may be short and even with no gondolas and no pigeons, it was enough for us to experience its beauty. There you go, I hope I have satisfied your cravings for another travel destination. Until my next post! In The Press Published in Illustrado Magazine (Dubai, UAE) Issue 23 (September 27, 2017), Pages 26 to 31 http://www.illustradolife.com/illustrado-goissue-23/ Published in Expat Newspaper (Philippines) Issue 18 (December 2017), Page 9 https://issuu.com/expatph/docs/expat_-_december_2017_final Featured in the European Travel Magazine Italy: Unusual Venice (October 28, 2017) http://www.e-travelmag.com/italy/unusual-venice/ Published in Sports & Travel Singapore
Issue 79 (January to February 2018), Page 5 https://issuu.com/sportsandtravelsingapore/docs/issue79 |
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Dates
October 2018
About MeI am a software engineer based in Ireland; a qualified accountant who made a 360-degree career shift to Information Technology during the Y2K era. Joey (my husband) and I have big appetites for travelling, learning new cultures, and a passion for experiencing varied cuisines. Follow us as we chronicle life's little perks! |