Magical, wonderful, inspiring Venezia

The internet is such an odd place. You will find the opposite of every opinion that could possibly exist. Even when we spoke to locals here in Bologna, the reviews about Venice (or Venezia in Italian) were mixed at best. Most folks said that it was insanely crowded, complained about the “Disney-fication” of the city, it’s overpriced and on and on. We heard so many negative things about the city before we got there that I was ready to be disappointed. In the end, we balked at the opinions and decided to see for ourselves.

And wow…Venice did not disappoint at all. Yes, it’s a bit crowded at parts but so, so gorgeous. The entire city is a maze of streets and alleyways that bombard you with romantic sights around ever corner. It felt quintessential.

The first day we got there there was a public transportation strike (which happens very frequently in Italy). Luckily our train was still running (an hour later than planned but…still running!) but the transportation that they use within Venice was not running when we got there. There’s no cars or bikes allowed along the city streets so the only public transportation is along the canals that line the perimeter of the city.

The boat version of a bus is called a vaporetto and they were very convenient to use albeit loud as heck. (Also, the drivers and crew are…interesting – Alyssa and I were with our friend Ariana and we were all trying to board. After Ariana got on the boat, the crew just shut the gate and drove off before Alyssa and I could get on even though there was plenty of room and we were inches behind her….a local Venetian saw it happen and apologized on their behalf and explained that they can be pretty rude.)

The main part of the city is small enough that walking to any destination isn’t very difficult though. And that’s kind of the best part – wandering aimlessly through the streets might not sound like an activity that you’d want to “plan” for but it is the best way to see the city and the best way to discover random spots to eat and drink.

It’s hard to describe the magic of this city. Centuries old buildings are arranged in haphazard order, and as plaster peels from the brick, vine and plant covered balconies invite you to look anywhere but down. In any city in the States, I’d feel worried about wandering down narrow, dark alleyways but in Venice, that’s just how you get from point A to point B and every alleyway leads to beautiful bridges and boat-lined canals. The sparkling water at dusk becomes the foreground to an architectural dreamworld that is unforgettable.

And the food was great too! Lots of Venice bars serve a tapas-style cuisine called cicchetti where you can grab a spritz or a glass of wine and a few small snacks for a couple euro. It’s the cheapest way to eat in the city I think and doing a “cicchetti crawl” is highly recommended. One of the spots we discovered by just wandering around (Osteria Ae Forcoe) looked like a normal bar at first but then I noticed that they had a little patio outside so I asked if we could sit out there. Turns out the patio was right along a small canal where the gondolas run so we sat and drank while watching couples rest in each other’s arms, soaking in the vibes of the city as the sun set.

There are two islands close to the main island that we also visited. Burano is a small island known for lace making and Murano is known for glassware. Both were beautiful and much less crowded than the main island but I could have stayed in Burano for the rest of my life. The houses are painted bright pastels and the town is so small that it felt like a place where everyone knew each other and you could spend most of your time sipping espresso and watching the river.

Lastly, we decided to visit an art exhibit that was going on while we were there called La Biennale (which just means bi-annual). It was ENORMOUS and we didn’t even see the whole thing. The theme this year was called “Foreigners Everywhere” and it was laid out along a large park that has buildings dedicated to different countries. The exhibits were inside the buildings and focused on an artist or two from a specific country. We got to see some incredible modern art and walking through the garden alone was a beautiful experience.

While there is a lot to do and see in the city, being there for 3 and half days was a good amount of time. By the time we left, we felt like we had experienced everything we wanted to. While I could have stayed there for another month just to continue being surrounded by such amazing architecture and ambience, we were ready to pack up when the time came and head to our next adventure – the Dolemites!