Venezia - Our Vacation In Italy

VENEZIA
Venice was very different from Sorrento. Touristy, hot, and expensive, yet romantic and intimate. Venice was the last city we visited in Italy.

Well of Ezio Outside Corte Canal

Day Number 12:
This was a very rough day. From Sorrento to Napoli we took a local train and from Napoli to Venice we took an express train with a connection in Bologna. The travel time at that point was about 9 hours. Getting from the train station to our bed and breakfast was no easy task either. We carried the luggage over a big bridge which took out almost all of our remaining energy. When we arrived at Corte Canal we were very upset to find out the conditions.

 

Dad, Sarah, Katie, Heather, and I walk the streets of Venice

I might as well knock out all the bad stuff first so that the rest of the blog is enjoyable. The description for our room includes a double room and a quadruple room with breakfast every morning. Well this room was in the attic and had zero separation between the alleged rooms. The mattress Heather and I slept on was maybe 4 inches thick on no box spring. Breakfast consisted of wrapped up pound cakes and juice boxes that sat there for the entire four days. We were located on the fourth floor essentially and there was no elevator. So, we got to drag all of our luggage up several flights of stairs. Katie tripped going up the stairs on a loose piece of molding and fell forward into the room. The maid didn't make the beds or bring in new towels or do much of anything. Needless to say this was not a good first impression of the city.

 Our View from atop the Rialto Bridge

After several deep breaths and muttering my breath, we decided to get some dinner. By this time we were starving and I felt sick from not eating. We found a place called Taverna da Baffo. Our waiter Maximus recommended a special bruschetta bread twisted with arugula, prosciutto, and mozzarella di bufalo. Delicious stuff. We also had pizza and I ate seafood risotto. I'm pretty sure that this was the best restaurant in Venice that we ate at and I do wish we went there one more time. That night we walked to the Rialto Bridge and got gelato.

 

Heather being super cute at the Rialto Bridge

Day Number 13:
I will say that as unhappy as we were with the conditions of the bed and breakfast, we were happy with the location. For our first full day in Venice we had breakfast just down the block from Corte Canal at a pastry shop. After that we took a Vaporetto boat to St. Marks Square and Basilica. It was very hot that day and was for the most part while we were there. Some line cutters made me lose my temper and I cursed at them very loudly for a while.

View from atop St. Marks Basilica's Balcony

St. Marks was very cool. The whole church is like one big mosaic piece of artwork. The view of St. Marks square from the top of the basilica was very impressive as were the works inside the building. 
Afterwards we did a bit of shopping and then ate at a Rick Steves recommendation for traditional Venetian food known as cicchetti. The restaurant was called Osteria ai Storti. I had grilled cicchetti which was a plate of small, boney fish served from head to tail. I'm proud to say I finished everything.

 Inside St. Peter's Basilica where NO pictures are allowed

After lunch we split, Heather and I split off to do some more shopping and take it easy. She found a little fabric shop and bought her brother Patrick a Chef's Hat. The guy at the shop sewed on the words "Little Chef" right in front of us and it was really cool to watch. We made our way back down to St. Marks and took a vaporetto boat to the Rialto bridge where we got some delicious crepes. We walked from there through the Jewish Getto which is an island in Venice where the old Venetians forced Jews to live. Yes, it really was and still is called the Jewish Getto and is apparently the place where the word ghetto came from.

Traditional Venetian Fish Dish

We picked up some figs, black cherries, and dates along the way back to our bed and breakfast. We took a short nap and then rode the vaporetto boat back to St. Marks and back to see the city at night by boat. Unfortunately, the boat got very crowded which made it difficult to really enjoy it. It was cool though to see the water on the canals go right up to the doors. I tried to imagine what the city looked like before the water levels had risen.

Day Number 14:
Despite Heather and I declaring that we were totally "Museum-ed Out", I realized that we hadn't seen the Scuola di San Rocco. We decided this final landmark would be worth paying a visit to and now we are glad we did. The Scuola di San Rocco is considered the Sistine Chapel of Tintoretto, a painter during Michelangelo's time in the Renaissance. His works are magnificent and the Scuola was a site to see. No photos were allowed inside and this time I listened to the rules (most people don't).

Scuola di San Rocco in Venice by Tintoretto

After the Scuola, Heather and I ate lunch and headed back for a long nap. The heat was very strong in Venice the whole time we were there and it took a toll on us. After we woke up, my family, Heather, and I went out to dinner. Afterwards, we had gelato then found a large picnic area where food was being served and a band was playing 70's music. Heather and I had a few beers and turned in for the night to get ready for our last day in Italy.

The band playing Greg Carr Music in the Picnic Area. 

Day Number 15: 
Heather and I had a nice, long lunch along a canal near the Accademia section of Venice. Then we walked to St. Marks square to a shop where we bought a nice stamp with our initials on it and I picked up my final souvenir.

 Looks like I'm kind of wide for some of the streets in Venice

We hurried back to our bed and breakfast, showered, and did a Rick Steves recommended tour with Alessandro Schezzini where we tried out local Venetian foods and drank way too much. Alessando was a lot of fun and gave our group of fourteen a taste of what Venice is all about. We went to the oldest bar in Venice which was called Cantina Do Mori. We met some very cool people from all over the United States including New York. The one downside was that Heather and I wanted to do a gondola ride but we drank too much. This means that we will have to return at some point.

Alessandro Schezzini discussing red wine

Day Number 16:
The journey home was a long one. We woke up, still a little drunk, around 7:00 am to start. We brought all of our stuff down at 8:00 and the trip home began. The flight, the walk to the bus, the stupid crying babies on the plane, another Guiness in Ireland, and the return home took around 18 hours total from door to door. It's a day later and I' still feeling the effects of the jet lag.

The Trip:
My parents, Katie, Sarah, Heather, and I really enjoyed ourselves. Visiting relatives and being embraced by them, seeing new places, trying new foods, meeting new people, and just enjoying life are some of the things we really got to enjoy. I hope to go back again soon to see more of the southern part of Italy. I fully intend on completing the Italian Rosetta Stone that Vinny let me borrow so that the next time I go I can speak even better. I do love Italy but it is nice to be home now.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! Feel free to comment with any questions about anywhere we went or add your own stories if you've visited before. To go back to the start......

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