Rolling Venice

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May 24

We slept in, checked out from our hotel at 10 am and walked to our next hotel, where we would spend the next two nights. Fortunately it was nearby, but check-in at the new place was at 1 pm. That was a little inconvenient, because we didn’t want to leave all our valuables in the lobby with our luggage, so we had to carry heavy bags around town for the next 3 hours. We walked all the way to San Marco square, where we discovered visitor information center and we decided to buy 3 day public transportation pass for 22 euros per person. We took a vaporetto back to our hotel. After we checked in, we went to the Jewish Ghetto to get some lunch. Molly found an Israeli restaurant with vegan options called Gam Gam. It was maybe ten minute walk from our hotel. I would like to add that it is really easy to get lost in Venice. It is like walking through a huge maze. We had to keep looking at the map constantly to know where we were, because otherwise we would end up in a dead end street with no bridge to walk across a canal. Many streets are so narrow that you can touch walls on both sides at the same time. Walking around Venice is a lot of fun. Later in the afternoon, we went back to San Marco square to visit the St. Mark’s Basilica, but it closed at 5 pm and so we went to the top of the tallest tower instead to see the city from above. In the evening, we bought a bottle of wine, found a nice empty dock on the Grand Canal, and watched boats and gondolas pass by into the darkness.
-Filip

May 25

We got up a bit earlier today and Filip went out to get a pastry and a coffee at a nearby café while I got ready. The café he went to was a bit of an express service, with no chairs, where people stand at the bar with their pastry in one hand and their espresso in the other. Our plan for the day was to visit the other islands: Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Then if we still had time we would try to get back to St. Mark’s Basilica.
Murano was the closest of the three islands, and the first one we stopped at. This island is known for glass blowing. There are many factories where you can go and observe the different objects being made. It is amazing to see how gifted these artists are at manipulating the glass to make different things like lamps, necklace beads, plates, etc. There are also many stores where you can buy these items made locally in Murano. I wanted to buy something because it would be such a unique item to have, but we couldn’t find something small that we both liked that we could easily pack into our luggage, and that didn’t cost too much.
After Murano, we went to Burano, which was our favorite of the three islands. The buildings are all painted in bright colors, and the buildings are never the same color as the one next to them. Burano is also known for lace making. The lace is sewn by hand and you can find stores selling clothes, napkins, tablecloths, scarfs, etc. that are all made on the island. We had packed some water and snacks, but were hungry enough that we decided to stop for lunch on the island before heading to Torcello.
Torcello is known for the oldest building in Venice. Unfortunately, there seemed to be some school field trip to the islands, and while it wasn’t a problem on Murano or Burano, Torcello is a bit smaller so they were running around everywhere. We walked around the outside of the building and decided not to go in. On the inside there are huge mosaics on the walls and ceiling.
We made our way back to the main islands of Venice and headed back to our hotel. Since it was almost 5pm already, we knew we would again miss out on the St. Marks Basilica. We spent some time at the hotel to rest and figure out what to do with the remainder of our time in Venice. We realized that the only thing we would still be able to do that evening was dinner and perhaps a late night ride on the vaparetto. We ventured into an area of the city we had yet to explore, and went to dinner at La Zucca (The Pumpkin). They made me a vegan plate which was displayed nicely with rice in the middle and 5 or 6 veggie dishes surrounding the rice.
We already know of a few things that we want to go back to do and see in Venice, and wish that we had had at least one more day to fit them in on this trip. The things we will do the next time are St. Marks Basilica, the old Rialto Mercato (Market), and the Accademia Gallery. We had three nights in Venice, and two full days. If we had structured our trip, we might have been able to do everything, but it would have been exhausting. We really enjoyed our time, and never felt rushed to move from one place to the next, so I don’t think I would have wanted to fit more in, in the time we had.
-Molly

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Photos

Dusk
There is not a lot of nightlife in Venice.

Comments

[Renata]

I cannot wait to read more from you
Hi Filip and Molly, I enjoy reading your blog. It looks you have been traveling without any problems so far. From Molly's note that "The things we will do the next time are St. Marks Basilica, the old Rialto Mercato (Market), and the Accademia Gallery" I assume that you will come back to Europe again which I like to hear :-)).