Ciao Venice!

After lunch, we went walking through Venice taking in its eloquence. Venice is so effortlessly beautiful.

We wanted to buy wine and strawberries for our gondola ride just to set the mood. Luckily we didn’t have to search very far before discovering a supermarket where in addition to our wine we picked up Nutella. There was a Gondola man outside of the market who seemed cool and had a gorgeous boat so we did what anyone would do and tried to negotiate the 80 € price down before hopping on.

Our Gondola ride was pretty awesome. We sailed along the Grand Canal, snapping flicks and listening to the history of Venice. We passed by the Marco Polo house, only to discover that Hollywood was there shooting a Marco Polo film. It was awesome to see all the actors dressed like they were living in the year 1295. The ride leads us under various bridges and secret passageways that unlocked the mystical charm of Venice. Our tour guide was super cool, until someone got Nutella chocolate on his hat and he went INSANE! He kicked us off his boat cussing us out in Italian. You had to see it to believe it.

We had one more thing to do for the day and that was to find San Marco Square. Venice has signs on buildings with arrows that points you into various directions and you have to keep looking for these signs…it’s so bizarre and very easy to overlook.

I think the city is a set up for getting lost. It’s something that will inevitably happen to you. We roamed the streets aimlessly sometimes following the crowds and other times just walking into desolate alley ways stopping at Gelato stands and bakeries along the way. Venice is weird like that, one minute you are surrounded by hundreds of people and other times you are on the streets completely alone.

Finally, we discovered San Marco Square, the heart of Venice. The first thing we did was go inside St Marks Basilica. I walked to a pew and kneeled on the stand praying to God and thanking him for his blessings and traveling mercies. I then put holy water on my head and walked out. San Marco Square was filled with tourists, pigeons and amazing architecture.

Trying to find our way back from San Marco Square to Santa Croce (the neighborhood of our hotel) ultimately meant we would get lost, yet again…only this time we were really lost. I guess I can cross Get Lost in Venice off my bucket list. We walked across the Rialto Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in Venice. It was massive and the sun was setting over it which made it look extra magical. We then walked through a few alleyways, turning left and another left, walking straight down a path, crossing a bridge and walking along the Grand Canal until finally, we saw something we recognized…BURGER KING! In Venice, there was only one McDonalds and Burger King. It just so happens that our hotel was close by. We could finally breathe easily.

That night we had free cocktails at our hotel bar and talked candidly with the staff. It was after 10PM so we knew Venice had completely shut down but we found a restaurant close to our hotel who cooked us seafood spaghetti and carbonara. Magnifico!

Ky’s Verdict: I love Venice but I probably won’t be visiting here anytime soon. All I needed was that one day to experience this beautiful city but after that, I can see it becoming boring.