Storyline: Virtual Itinerary
As with most of our trips at the time, this was a spontaneous decision. Air Canada Rouge had just opened a new destination to Venice and the price was really good. I seized the opportunity. We’d fly to Venice, tour a few cities in Northern Italy and visit my friend Anne in Milan. From Milan we’d fly to Sofia visit a few places in Bulgaria and fly back from Sofia to Toronto at the end of June.
We had one of those early morning arrivals as with most of the flights crossing the ocean from west to east. Our first hotel, Delle Rose, was in Mestre, the mainland entrance to Venice, close to a tram stop that would take us to Venice proper in 10 min. The owner had given us great instructions of how to get from the airport to his hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 9 am and they stored our luggage and gave us all the instructions we needed for the next couple of hours. Where was the tram stop, how to get into Venice, which is the best pass to get around, where is the bank, etc.
We returned at around 11:30 am and our room was ready, although the posted check-in time was not until 2pm. We had a nice room with a balcony and really big bathroom. The best was the breakfast – they baked everything in the morning – plenty of breads, croissants, cakes, meat and cheeses, yogurts, cereals, fruits and juices. Unexpectedly good for a two-star hotel. There was a small bar at the reception that worked all the time, too.
After checking in early, we took the tram to Venice. The first thing we saw getting off the tram was the Scalzi Bridge. And many people trying to drag their huge suitcases up the steps. Our first task was to find the Telefonica phone store from where we’d buy our SIM card.
So, we turned left from the train and tram station, soon crossed the Guglie Bridge and found the store, from where we bought our TIM card with data. This was the first time we’d bought a local SIM while travelling.
It turned out to be one of our two best investments in Italy. The other would be my red poncho, which we’d buy the next day when the rain began following us.
Without Google Maps we’d be still trying to find places in Venice off the beaten tourist path. It helped everywhere went. We also heavily used our data plan for the train schedules while travelling around the country.
From the TIM store we walked through narrow streets, crossed canals, stopped to admire the beauty of this amazing city. It was already afternoon and we needed to have some food and well-deserved drinks.
We stumbled upon a neat place by a canal (after all, almost everything is by a canal here) which appeared to be named Antichita. We had a dish and a glass of wine each. This was the best squid-ink pasta I’d ever had (not that I’d had it before anyway), or have had since.
We spent a few nights at our Mestre hotel and then moved to a hotel in Venice proper so we could experience the night life. Cà Valleri was our new hotel, a small operation, in the Castelo area the city. It was on the opposite side of the city from the train and bus stations. One either walks to there, which we did, or takes the water-bus to the Arsenale stop.
The hotel was in a very small alley off the “main” street, just behind a restaurant. From outside it looked run down, as do most of the streets in Venice. But once you are inside, you’re surprised by the size and luxury of your room. There were of course no elevators in an old building like this, so having only small suitcases helps, even though the lady at reception offered to carry our bags up to the third floor.
Our room was spacious, with two sections – sitting area and bedroom.
The bathroom was big too, with a nice sized bathtub. All the light fixtures were Murano glass. We were really glad we had secured this place for a few days. Early morning and after about 4 pm it was a 10-minute walk to the piazza S. Marco, but it could take 30+ minutes through the crowds during the day.
We of course visited the must-does. Instead of waiting for hours to get into a place like St. Marks Cathedral though, we waited until 4pm when the cruise ship crowds and other day-trippers would be gone and the place would be ours.
There were also some interesting museums that were not on the list of the tour groups that we could visit during the day. Like the free Music Museum, which displays antique musical instruments from Vivaldi’s era.
We avoided the crowds like the plague (sad how this is happening now, when we are locked down due to covid-19: Venice and all Italian cities are empty of tourists as are cities around the world).
We scouted Venice from end to end, observed the local life, the city beyond the tourist paths, visited the Arab area, where even the locals don’t go.
Then visited the Jewish Ghetto and surroundings. Of course, every hour or so I needed a refreshment break.
We’d often sit and have a drink, however for using the toilets there is a trick. Just watch the locals. If you stand at the bar, an espresso or other drink was 1 euro and use of the toilet was free. Otherwise the toilet was 1 euro. So, you better off having the coffee or another drink. Don’t sit at a table though. The same coffee then would be 2.50 or 3.50 euros. This ‘table charge’ is apparently common throughout Italy.
After getting lost a few times in San Polo and Santa Croce we found the locally-recommended best gelato place, called Alaska. The gelato is hand-made daily with natural ingredients and it was cheaper than the artificially flavoured and garishly coloured knock-offs found in the busy tourist areas.
Many times, we were soaked to the bone with rain dumping over us. That’s why I acquired a poncho for a few Euros (from a street vendor) that would serve me well throughout Italy.
We loved being lost in Venice and finding our way back to civilization. If you ever visit, and movement is not restricted (as we’ve read it was last year), allow yourself to get lost.
You are never too far from a canal or a bridge. And you’ll enjoy it more than the main tourist streets.
The free street maps that are available are quite good, but only if you know where you are. That’s where online maps come in handy.
Close to the end of our trip we bought a day pass that included all water transportation, for visiting museums and the islands. We first visited Murano and its glass factories and multiple stores.
One of their products would end up in our living room and many of you have seen it.
Acquiring this beautiful bowl is a long story, but it eventually landed on our dining table.
Next stop was Burano, the lace island. I really liked its colorful streets.
By the time we reached Torcello, the main museum was closed, so we toured it and decided it was time for dinner.
Alas, it was Tuesday and everything was closing around that time. So we hopped onto the water bus and went back to Burano with the hope of finding a good pasta dish as we had read somewhere. The same – most of the places were closing.
We didn’t have a big choice so went to the main piazza and sat at one of the very few places still open. Staff was really nice, but the food not so. Everything was very oily, extremely salty and quite a disappointment for Italian cuisine.
Visiting the islands concluded our experience in Venice. It was time to move on to Padua the next morning.
If you are new to the “Virtual Itinerary” storyline: All the stories here are real, although from the past, some from a quite distant past. It covers travels to countries and places we had in our real Spring 2020 itinerary. If not for Covid-19 we’d be traveling right now.
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