Venice, Italia.

September 13th, 2013

Venice 

Important things about Venice

It isn't going to be there forever - Venice is a magical place that is on many people's bucket lists, but due to the tilting of the city and the raising of the water, it is not going to be around forever. So go sooner rather than later! 

Get Lost - This is something that is very easy to do in the city. There are so many narrow side streets and turns and that means that getting lost is rather simple. Try it, leave your map or phone in your bag and just explore. Those are the memories that you will remember. Getting lost isn't always a bad thing. 

Carnival - This is a lovely time to visit the city. It is around the time of Mardi Gras and Easter.  About 3 million people travel to Venice during this time and the streets are filled with people wearing beautiful Venetian masks. The festival dates back to around 1162 and is a sight to see. 

Go on a gondola - This is something that is a trademark of the city. Gondolas swarm the canals with tourists everyday and it is something that is so distinctive to the city alone. The trip could be rather spendy, but it is so worth it. Go with a group of friends to split the costs! 

Drink bellinis - Bellinis originated in Venice and usually if something is created in the city it has to be very good there! So go ahead and sit at a canal side cafe and enjoy this lovely beverage. 

After a crazy night before with no sleep, my roommates and I traveled to Venice, Italy for the day with Bus2Alps. It was a short three or so hour bus ride from Florence where we slept until the last second. When we first arrived in Venice we took a transfer into the actual city and we were so surprised with how lovely it actually was. I have heard mixed things about Venice and I was really interested in seeing what it was actually like. There are bridges everywhere and gondolas were in abundance as well. The streets of the city were insanely narrow and it was so easy to get lost. When we first broke off from the group we were eager to find a restaurant for lunch. We found this little cafe on a side street and ordered these lovely salads and enjoyed all of the visually beautiful things Venice had to offer. Things in Venice were a little bit more expensive than Florence which made sense because of the tourists and such, but the food was worth it. After lunch we were determined to locate St. Marks Square, arguably the most famous landmark in the city. It took awhile but we did find it! There were a bunch of signs attempting to direct people to the square but they weren't doing a very good job. The square was absolutely breathtaking. Even though there was so many people and construction, it was really easy to see why people hype about it. It is something that I couldn't even begin to compare to something else. After visiting the square, we were craving some gelato, oh gelato one of the best things in the world. We found a little shop along the side street and we choose a good one! As we were enjoying the lovely treat we did a little shopping. Two souvenirs that are popular to buy in Venice are Venetian masks and Murano glass. Of course I had to get both of them. The masks are popular because of the famous Carnival festival in the city and Murano glass is popular because it is created on the island of Murano which is really close in proximity to Venice. Many shops and carts had these two items but I was determined to look at as many as I could to find the perfect one. After a little bit of searching we found this little shop on yet again another side street, where this vibrant woman was working. I left the store with a really cool lace looking mask, three Murano glass necklaces and a shot glass. The woman working loved talking to us and I'm pretty sure ended up giving all of us a good deal. The only thing left to do on our list for Venice was to ride a gondola. I was looking forward to this all day because like I said, it is something that is considered a "must do" when traveling to the city. We found a little stand on the side of a canal with a really long line, it seemed like it was going fast though so we decided to wait and stick it out. About 30 minutes later we were getting on the gondola! There was three of us and we took our ride with another couple. I think that the total amount for the ride was about 60 euro, but with five people it wasn't that expensive. After getting all of the stuff that we wanted to do done it was already almost time to go back to Florence. We spent our last bit of time just walking around and enjoying all that Venice had to offer. 

I loved my trip to Venice but it is something that you only need a day to see. I could see spending more time if you were there for Carnival but other than that it doesn't take long to explore the city itself. I really did like the city in general but it was a little dirty.You would think something with such potential and grace would be taken care of better, but what can you do.