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At the Hotel Danieli
This summer Trish and I went on an Around-the-World trip, visiting 4 countries in 2 weeks.  Our first stop was Tokyo for 2 nights followed by a red-eye flight via Istanbul into Venice, Italy for 3 nights.  We were tired, it was crazy hot and the city was crowded, but the food was good and the views were beautiful - so I think it all evened out.   Read below for a few of the highlights from our Venice vacation.  
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Crossing a bridge in Venice

Out and About in Venice

Transportation -
  • We arrived in Venice and took a water bus directly from the airport into the city, which dropped us right at Rialto Bridge.  We landed in the morning and couldn't check into our Airbnb until late afternoon, so we found a luggage depot to drop our bags off for a nominal fee.  So worth it!  With all the stairs, bridges, cobblestone and crowds the last thing you want to lug around all day is a suitcase.   
  • On our return trip to the airport we decided to splurge on a private taxi (since we didn't pay for a gondola ride during our stay).  It picked us up right from our hotel and went directly to the airport, and included the beautiful views of Venice as our boat pulled away from the crowds. 
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My observations of Italy – first, it was ridiculously hot.  Like so hot you really didn’t want to go out and see anything.  On top of that, it was overcrowded.  Those annoying crowds that just make you want to find a quiet corner in a plaza and escape from everyone.   It was also sadly too touristy for my taste these days.  Yes, I’m glad I experienced the city at least once in my life, as I do think it is a city unlike any place else…although I do wish I had experienced the Venice of 10+ years ago, which I imagine was much more authentic.   But sadly the commercialization of it all and one tourist shop after the next everywhere you turn, just bitters the experience.   

​Despite that opinion, we still enjoyed what we could of the city and mostly tried our best to get lost and explore all the nooks and crannies of the small island.   Our few days consisted of basically what you would imagine in Italy.  Lots of walking, taking a ridiculous number of photos of beautiful buildings, canals and gondolas, sipping on aperol spritz to cool off and eating delicious pasta.   
  • We enjoyed walking through St. Marks plaza
  • Peeking out through the many narrow streets onto quiet and empty courtyard squares
  • Following along the quieter pathways of the canal
  • Finding the last standing gondola repair shop in Squero di San Trovaso
  • Stepping into the Museo Della Musica
  • Stumbling upon a woodworking shop and taking a photo with the artist who made our miniature hand carved gondola souvenir
  • Walking up and across the Rialto bridge and taking many photos of the beautiful grand canal from the top

Food and Drink

What better way to spend a few days in Venice than eating as much homemade pasta as possible and sipping on aperol spritz to recover from the heat.  And of course we couldn't leave out red wine and limoncello! ​

Our first meal was sitting in a quiet cafe after dropping out baggage off at the depot, enjoying a glass of red wine, bruschetta and pasta!  That night we were so exhausted after the red-eye flight from Tokyo and a long day walking around waiting for our Airbnb to be ready, about all we could muster up was to grab some take out slices of pizza from a recommended shop (Pizzeria Cip Ciap) nearby and eat in our room before calling it an early night.  
The next day we we took a recommendation for lunch and enjoyed a spritz and pesto pasta at a quiet (and as close to local as we could find) spot – Al Mascaron.   That afternoon we relaxed and sipped on Americanos in Campo San Giovanni e Paolo , overlooking the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo.  For dinner we had some disappointment, as the restaurant (Trattoria alla Riveta) that Trish has eaten at before and was most looking forward to dining at again on this trip ended up being closed for the August tourist season.  So we settled on walking through the streets to read menus and picking a semi-OK place (that I can't even recall the name of).  The best part of the dinner was the limoncello served for dessert.  
Our last full day in Venice we found a restaurant, Giorgione, on this large pedestrian street, while exploring some parts of the city towards the eastern edge.  I enjoyed a pizza while Trish had one last serving of her favorite vongole pasta with clams.  At our Hotel Danieli (see below for that experience!) they treated us to a bottle of champagne and cookies.  So you can easily guess what our snack was that afternoon while enjoying the view from our balcony.   For dinner we followed another friend's recommendation and ate at Osteria Alla Staffa.  We walked across the city through some very dark streets (which I never would have walked alone) and found this quiet little place that almost didn’t look open.  They were friendly and we each enjoyed our dishes – mine a delicious ravioli and Trish indulging in her other favorite - squid ink pasta.  Over a glass of Italian red wine we clinked cheers to a nice end to our Venice vacation.  
Oh, but don't forget about the wonderful breakfast buffet at the Hotel Danieli, which we enjoyed on our last morning in Venice.  It came included with our room - and wow - so tasty, but mostly it was the rooftop terrace table-top views overlooking the lagoon which made it unforgettable.  ​​

Artsy Venice

I only had my iPhone on this trip, but with the beauty of Venice all around, I had to try to take at least a few creative photos along the way.  Here are my attempts. 

Accomodations

Our first 2 nights we spent in a very affordable Airbnb near Piazza San Marco.  On our final night we splurged and stayed at the fabulous ​Hotel Danieli.   This was our big “treat to ourselves” during the trip.   And what a fabulous treat it was.  I will caveat and say that yes, the hotel is part of the SPG/Marriott brand and our hotel status does come with some perks, but despite that the history and beauty of the building is wonderful to see in person   We majorly lucked out and got upgraded to a room on the top floor with a balcony overlooking the lagoon and bustling boardwalk below.   With the addition of a complimentary bottle of champagne and treats delivered to the room, we couldn’t have been more ecstatic at the overall experience for our last night in Venice!

Feet

Wouldn't be one of my trips without a traveling feet photo...or 3!
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