Sun 24th – Wed 27th May
Accommodation: San Zaccaria Apartment booked on Booking.com.
Sun 24th May
It was another glorious day in this part of the world, apart from the fact that we were charged an enormous fee (€182) for parking our car in Padua for 2 days & 18hrs. Lesson learned there: don’t trust the host’s opinion about fees for car parking.
Our journey across to Venice involved a 45’ drive to the parking station, where we were leaving the car and Dagwood for our 3 night stay, and then a 30’ water bus (vaporetto) ride from the car park around to near Saint Marks Square. We arrived around lunchtime and the first thing that struck us was just how unbelievably crowded the place was. Probably not surprising given it was a magnificent day (blue sky and 27 oC) and a Sunday so we were very glad we had to rush off to find our apartment.
Our apartment was in a building located along a small canal and just a few minutes’ walk from Saint Mark’s Square. It was an excellent location and even better inside. The apartment was large, bright, clean and tastefully renovated with lovely French doors that opened onto two balconies offering views over one of the many canals.
It was surprisingly hot out, as well as crowded, so we decided to stay indoors for a while in the hope that both situations would ease after a couple of hours. When we finally left the apartment it was to head over to the Rialto Bridge area where we took one of the GPSmyCity self guided walks and this was a 1 hour walk around the Rialto area. One thing we noticed was that there were many more tourists in Venice. Probably no surprises there. But an absolute abundance of Americans and it seemed like the whole subcontinent was here as well. I do sympathise with the poor Venetian people, it was terrible, it was like kid’s day at the Easter show in the showbag Pavilion. It was packed, busy and frenetic. The wait to head out had done little to ease the crowd numbers and it was still very warm.
We drifted back towards our apartment after the Rialto walk with a stop for a drink and then for dinner at the restaurant below our apartment which was quite pleasant. After that it was back home as we were both exhausted after our day of travel and we had a full day tomorrow with a walking tour in the morning and a boat trip in the afternoon.
Mon 22nd May
We had a full day planned for today with a walking tour in the morning and a guided tour by boat out to Murano & Burano islands for the afternoon.
Our walking tour was just under 2 hours and our guide, Giulia, took us through two of the six districts of Venice: Cannaregio and Castello. It was only a small group of 8 but 5 were from the USA. They didn’t speak to us & we didn’t speak to them. It was an interesting stroll through these two districts though as Giulia took us on a path that was new to us and that we wouldn’t have discovered on our own so we considered it was a tour that was well worth taking. We were both surprised to learn that the highest paying profession in Venice was the Gondalier and the second was the water boat taxi driver. Who’d have thought!
Giulia had also explained to us that the Venetian version of Tapas is called Cicchetti and that it’s a popular food item with locals so we tried some for our lunch and can testify that they are, indeed, delicious. Mark also tried his first Aperol Spritz with his cicchetti and loved it so it clearly won’t be his last!
Our afternoon tour to Murano and Burano was very pleasant despite the heat and some of the other guests. We were a group of 22 or so and they were all American except for 6; there was us, another couple from Australia (Barrossa Valley locals but Lions supporters) and two girls from London. It was quite unpleasant to endure one particular couple, from South Carolina, talking very loudly with another group from Kansas, whilst our guide was trying to give her introductory commentary and explanation of what the tour would cover. They just didn’t care less! One poor guy, from Chicago, looked pained to have to sit near them and we later chatted with him and discovered that he was no fan of Trump. Hardly surprising given he was from the home of Obama! The main thing I discovered on this outing though was that the set of Murano wine and champagne glasses I had bought 19 years ago now cost around $400 AUD per glass! Yes, you read that correctly! I’d always been hesitant to use them, in case they should break, but I’ll be even more anxious now!
It was 7 pm by the time we got back to Venice and we headed to a pizza restaurant, Rosso Pomodoro., that had come recommended by our guide. There wasn’t much atmosphere at the venue and the staff were quite harried but the pizza was rather excellent. Mark had more Aperol Spritz and has now declared that it may be his new drink. We shall see.
Tue 26th May
It was another glorious morning with clear blue skies and sunshine and, given we’d both woken early, we ventured out to try and catch some sights before the crowds set in. It was going to be another hot day, which was tiring, but we were not complaining at all. Our host of this apartment had told us that the week prior to our arrival it had rained all week so we were very grateful to have avoided that particular weather pattern.
Our only scheduled activity for today was a visit to the Doges Palace and St Mark’s Basilica at 10.30 am. It was packed at both venues and you really need to adopt a Kath and Kim style elbows up posture to make any progress. Our guide for the morning was excellent and it seemed she must have been a Kath and Kim fan too as she pushed our group through with force and vigour. It would have been nice to have more time in both venues as they are so spectacular that it takes a bit of time for your brain to absorb all of the majestic beauty. We’d both forgotten how magnificent the mosaics were inside Saint Mark’s Basilica and Mark commented that perhaps it wasn’t cleaned when we visited 19 years ago. Which could well have been the case.
It was after 12.30pm by the time our Basilica visit concluded and we were both quite tired, given the stress of the huge crowd and the heat, so we headed off to find somewhere to have more cicchetti for lunch and then it was back to the apartment to escape the heat for a bit and to have a rest. After that we ventured back out to take a walk to the Dorsoduro district and we used the GPSmyCity as a guide but didn’t complete this walk as it was still really quite hot and tiring but it had been interesting to see another district.
It was near 5.30 pm by the time we got back to our apartment and that left just enough time to take a gondola ride before dinner. The gondola left from right at our front door so that was very convenient and it was lovely to view the city from the water.
Dinner for our last night had been booked at Trattoria Alla Rivetta as this had come highly recommended and it didn’t disappoint. Our meals were delicious but not so the lemon basil gelato I sourced later for dessert. We were back home near 8.30 pm and pretty tired after our day that had involved almost 12 km of walking. We depart Venice in the morning and then head to Trieste where we catch up with my sister, Colleen, and her husband, David. Blog articles might be shorter from now on.
We had loved our short stay in Venice despite the huge crowds. The sustainability of Venice is of concern with the population in decline and with them being so dependent on tourism. It is a real double-edged sword for them to navigate. Our apartment was in a great location and was very comfortable for our stay and is a place that I would highly recommend if you’re ever looking for accommodation in Venice. However, I’d urge you to come sooner rather than later though and to avoid peak season if at all possible.