Venice Here we Come

(arriving in Venice and taking the water taxi...hubby was at the front of the boat)

I have always wanted to go to Italy. I guess you could say it's been on my bucket list (if I actually had one, which I don't). To say I was excited at the opportunity to go would be an understatement. My mom's family is Italian, coming from central and Southern Italy, specifically the areas of Abbruzesi, Naples and Sicily. These were too far from Switzerland for us to travel to on this trip, but I would love to try and visit them someday. For now, Venice and Lake Como would have to do. We were spending 3 days in Venice before heading to Lake Como for 2 days. It was a "quick" trip, but definitely worth it. 

 (Trying to check tickets, make sure we get the right train...phew, we really didn't have issues)

(touch down Venice...aaahhhh so exciting)

We headed out the Monday after we arrived. We caught the train from Bern to Zurich where we caught a flight into Venice. Again, I'm so thankful we had help from Critics Choice Travel Agency. It was a relief knowing everything was taken care of. I still was a little nervous each time we traveled wondering if we would make our connections and worrying about the language barriers, but again, many people spoke english and we managed just fine. Our flight was a little over an hour from Zurich to Venice. Once there, we met our private transfer which took us to the water taxi's, which then took us to one of the main areas of Venice to meet our Airbnb host. We had a little bit of a hard time connecting with her as the water taxi for whatever reason couldn't bring us directly to the location. Which meant our host had to come find us which was a bit humorous trying to describe ourselves and she describe herself...lol. It all worked out. We walked about 5 minutes to the residence. It is a little nerve wracking choosing an airbnb in another country but thankfully they all turned out amazing! 

 (the small side alley/street where our airbnb was located..right across from that bridge)

 (Our daughter on the balcony of her room, the entrance is just below)

This was a courtyard area in the middle of buildings. I never figured out how you got to it or if you could. there was a clothes line and we hung some clothes, and I hoped and prayed none would fall)

Our first view of Venice from the water taxi was breathtaking. It was like a dream come true...we were really here, really in this country. There was so much we packed into our time in Italy I don't know where to start. We do wish we would've had a few more days. So much to see and do. No need to worry about putting on weight. Holy cow we did a lot of walking. I think we averaged well over 20,000 steps a day. Which is great because we ate a lot of pasta and gelato! Oh, the gelato! The other thing I was "forced" to learn to like was unsweetened coffee drinks...lol. 

(So amazing to see from a boat...they have stop lights on the water...lol)

Let's do it this way: I'll share the highlights with links if I can find them. But a few other things first. Like I said, we did a lot of walking. Some friends of ours recommended that we enjoy "getting lost". They weren't kidding. It can be hard to maneuver through this city with its many alleys, streets, etc. The phone GPS did not help us much so we found a good old fashioned map and asked for directions a few times. Just enjoy the journey. We took in a lot while we were there since we were only there for just a few days. If your time is limited I definitely recommend having some things planned out. We opted to not do tours because they can be spendy and also take a long time and we wanted to just go with the flow and see as much as we could. 

(before and after getting a physical map....we also had to ask for help a few times)

For all my photos and some videos feel free to go to my Facebook page, Kirstin Bozich Troyer and search my albums for Switzerland/Italy, or my Instagram, and check highlights or scroll down through my photos til you find them. I have a lot. 

Our Air Bnb: Called Ross House 58. It was cute. It was a 5 minute walk to St. Marks Square and located in a quieter alleyway which was nice, and we joked it could be a bit creepy in one spot. Cute, simple, they supplied some food staples which was nice. Reasonably priced. We would stay here again and recommend them. 

 (One of the many leaning towers.)

 (I just LOVE the old buildings, the cool doors, EVERYTHING)

Sights: I absolutely LOVED the architecture, the old buildings, the stone walkways. Absolutely stunning, and it was amazing how many "towers/buildings" that leaned...not just Pisa. There are 9 others and the majority are located in Venice or Pisa. Read about them here. Take time to really pay attention to the history. We just don't see this kind of beauty in the states. 

St. Marks Square, San Marco and St. Marks Basilica: So beautiful. You couldn't take photos or videos inside the basilica but it is stunning. Sometimes you just have to take it all in with simply your eyes. The square is full of life, people, music, pigeons...LOTS of pigeons in Venice. They're not afraid of you either. San Marco is the heart of Venice and includes St. marks Square, St. Marks Basilica and a few other famous landmarks.

Rialto Bridge: There are four main bridges in Venice that span the Grand Canal and this is one of them, and the oldest, and one of the most popular. It offers a gorgeous view of the sunsets. It was very crowded but pretty nonetheless. We very likely crossed the others. Venice has over 400 bridges. The Ponte dell'Accademia was a beautiful wooden bridge and not quite as crowded as the Rialto. 

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo: The tallest spiral staircase in Venice, you can overlook the rooftops of Venice. It is hidden down an alley and we weren't sure we were going to find it. You can read more about it here. We only went up the staircase but spent time just looking out at the rooftops. 

Liberia Acqua Alta Venezia: This is the self-proclaimed "most beautiful bookstore in the world". My daughter and I wandered into here and I fell in love. The rooms are stacked wall to wall with books...many in boats and bathtubs and many created "walls". There is a book staircase outside, and "walls" made from books that have been damaged in floods. It is home to friendly cats and people. There is a chair, that sits right next to the canal on a landing of water....If you're aware of the horrible flood that hit Venice in November of last year, it greatly damaged this sweet store. 

Chiesa di San Vidal: A gorgeous church where we attended a concert by Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Along the walls are glass cases with violins dated back many years (I forgot what the oldest one was). Definitely recommend seeing a concert when in Venice.

 (The curtains are over the doors because they often open their doors for a breeze and don't want people peeking inside)

 (Glass bottle tree on Murano)

Burano and Murano: Two of Venices famous islands, we visited both in one day. Burano is known for its lace making and gorgeous colorful houses, which legend says were painted bright so fishermen could see them from their boats. Many small bridges connect shops and houses on either side of a small canal. We enjoyed meandering the streets, browsing the shops and trying pastries. Then we were off to Murano which is known world wide for its blown glass. It also has colorful homes as well. We again enjoyed strolling the streets, eating lunch at a small walk up shop (so good). I did purchase a few things in one of the glass shops. Definitely recommend these two islands. The Murano glass tree is pretty awesome. 

Building Bridges Sculpture: We just happened to see this on the ferry from Burano...it is so cool looking. The artist has another sculpture in the city but we didn't see it. The hand represent the need to build bridges and overcome differences. 

Food: Oh, the food....amazing. We ate so much gelato, Italian coffee, snacked on meats, cheeses and bread, and ate plenty of pasta. I'm not sure I can remember the names of every place we went, but there are so many options it's crazy! I tried to get things that I wouldn't eat at home, so no fettucini alfredo, "spaghetti" or lasagna for me...lol. Also, depending on the area of Italy you are in, certain foods are more common than others. I purchased a fun book from Amazon called Italy Dish by Dish. It highlighted the different regions of Italy and what cuisine was common to them. We were going to be in the Veneto (Venice) and Lombardy (Como) regions. It was fun browsing the book to see what we might expect. 

 So good!!!! Gelato!

(We passed by this restaurant and on the tables were sheets of pasta drying..How cool is that)

Gelatoteca Suso: We went to this spot once because it was a very popular with lots of posts on Instagram about it...so hey, we had to try it. Long lines, but very good. Find their website here. 

We visited a small gelato shop that was located just a few blocks (I don't even know if they're called blocks) from our airbnb. It had some of the best gelato, very simple, small and only took cash, but it was by far our favorite. 

I don't remember the coffee shops we visited, there are just too many. But I'll tell you this, for a "have a little coffee with your cream and sugar" kind of girl, I had to be smart with how I ordered...I was NOT going to look like a dumb tourist. Haha! Kristianna had done her research on what and how to order. Also, the majority of shops serve you at a standing bar, you drink it quick (a few shots of espresso) and out the door you go. If you want to leave with it, you ask for a "take away" (I love that term). 

One restaurant we did enjoy both the food and the service was Restaurant Noemi. I believe here I had pasta carbonara (which I have never had in the states)...ummm...it was amazing. 

Man! I wish I would have journaled each day....what was I thinking? Oh, wait, I wasn't. I also tried Meringue....which is very popular there and in Switzerland....so good! 

 (Stunning sunsets)

 (This girl was an amazing traveller and we're so glad we got to enjoy it with her)

 (Strolling the streets)

 (Produce market. Migros is a popular grocery store in Europe and I think this was part of that but just produce)

 I got dressed one day and realized my outfit matched the Gondola drivers...fashion fail..unless I could make some extra spending money. 

 This was the wooden bridge I mentioned above. 

Tips and additional thoughts: 

We purchased a 24 hour water taxi pass when we went to Murano and Burano. It was totally worth it. 

Read up on the local areas, find out the "etiquette" for going into places like the churches, etc. Many places recommended women wear certain styles of clothing. 

When eating at restaurants you are charged for everything...water is NOT free. You will be asked if you want "still" or "sparkling" water. You are charged for bread, so if you don't think you want it, ask them not to bring it. 

I do wish we would have steered a bit away from crowded restaurants and found some smaller, hole in the wall places. 

A few You Tube channels I liked for learning a bit of Italian:
Learn Italian for Free: A lot of videos, my faves were the learn Italian in 40 minute, etc.

Sofie's World: She married an Italian and I just loved her "real life" examples, etc...what not to do, what to do, etc. 

Budget, budget, budget. This wasn't an inexpensive trip for us and we did end up going over our budget just a bit.

Okay...feel free to ask questions and also check out my photos on social media in the links at the beginning of the post. You can also check out my other Europe trip posts. 

I had one other thought but totally forgot it. 



With Joy Unquenchable,