Welcome back! Come read about how to spend 2 nights in Venice and how I spent the second part of my spring break. This week I went to Venice and Split, Croatia, but I included Croatia in the next blog post.
Monday – Venice
Alrighty, so after my Rome hospital fiasco (see previous blog post for details) and getting literally 4 hours of sleep we headed to Venice.
This morning sucked. We scheduled a taxi the night before to make sure we got to our train on time. This was when I learned Italian taxis can be very unreliable. Actually all transportation in Italy as a whole can be unreliable. Not only did our taxi not show up, but we also missed our train.
BIG TIP: Try to book directly through the Italian train websites/apps directly in case you need to change your train or to avoid having to pay fees to change your train.
Luckily we were able to book the next train after our original one for a small fee instead of having to pay for a whole new ticket. From Rome it took us 4 hours to get to Venice. Once we arrived on the island.
Be sure to train into Venezia Santa Lucia so that it takes you straight to the island and not the mainland.
Where We Stayed
Once we arrived in Venice we took a water taxi to our Airbnb. This Airbnb was one of my favorites I’ve ever stayed in. The host was so sweet and gave us recommendations, discount codes for activities, a map, and a guide. Our place had a gorgeous view of the canal and was only a bridge away from a square with a bar and coffee shop. Here is the link to where we stayed: click here
My Honest Thoughts on the Famous “Gondola Ride”
After checking into the Airbnb we wanted to beat the rain and immediately booked a gondola ride. There is a gondola docked right next to the Airbnb we stayed in. This may be an unpopular opinion, but you should only do the gondola ride once. It’s pretty expensive for what you pay for, usually around 100 Euro per boat , but it is also a once in a lifetime experience you should do at least once in Venice.
Ours lasted around 45 minutes, but I know that it depends on who is rowing the gondola some may be 30 minutes. Our skipper took us all around the canals, which is the best way to see Venice. He also gave us some history on the city.
An Evening in Venice
After our gondola ride we grabbed Aperol spritz’s at the bar nearby. Super convenient. After our spritz’s we walked around the city in at sunset and basically gave ourselves a tour of the whole island. We went in the end of March and so it was pretty empty. Venice for the most part is safe, but as two 21 year-old girls we didn’t feel the safest at night because you’re walking through narrow, dark alleyways to get everywhere and there was very little people out at this time. Also USE GOOGLE MAPS in Venice NOT APPLE MAPS. While I am an Apple Maps user through thick and thin, it was very unreliable here and we needed to use Google Maps to get around.
After our self tour we grabbed dinner at a small local restaurant and ended the night early.
Tuesday- Venice
Rialto Bridge, Fish Market, and Saint Mark’s Basilica
On Tuesday morning we grabbed our cappuccinos and croissants at Dolce Vita cafe before taking the water taxi to the fish market and Rialto bridge. We were actually able to go under the bridge during our water taxi ride which was super cool. While the fish market was closing up by the time we got there it was still cool to see. We then walked around the Rialto bridge area where we bought some souvenirs and took pictures.
Then we stopped for lunch at Baci Pasta. This was the perfect place for lunch as we were able to get takeout pasta!! It was so good, I would recommend. Afterwards we got tickets to see San Marcos Church which is the main church on the island. Definitely plan this ahead of time. We finished the day by just strolling round the city and trying some Venetian food. Of course we grabbed another aperol spritz. I think Venice is known specifically for their aperol spritz and not to mention they are SUPER CHEAP here.
Dinner in Venice and Suso Gelato
We had the most entertaining dinner experience this night in Venice. Paige and I wanted a steak dinner near the water and so we headed to one of the restaurants over there. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant unfortunately. Once we got there we were seated next to a group of college boys talking about a movie Paige and I had watched the night before and we were cracking up at the dinner table. It was super funny. I ordered a glass or wine and Paige got a strawberry bellini. Then we got our steak and potatoes, my personal favorite. Overall, the dinner was super fun and yummy.
After dinner we went to the famous Suso Gelato. In my opinion it was overrated. After dinner we walked back to our place. On our way back we saw Universita Ca Foscari which is where I almost studied abroad before switching my decision to studying in Florence.
Wednesday – Reset day in Florence
Back in Florence – Dinner at the best: Trattoria Zaza
Wednesday morning we took the train back to Florence. We pretty much just napped and chilled. Then I took her to the rest of the MUST SEES in Florence. We went to Vivoli for affogato.
Then we went to Trattoria Zaza for dinner. This place is in my TOP 3 RESTAURANTS IN FLORENCE. It does live up to the hype. Definitely try to book a reservation in advance. Even in the reservation line we ended up waiting an hour for our table. This dinner is so good. For dinner we got: fun drinks, the artichoke, I got the steak and potatoes, and Paige got their famous truffle chicken and potatoes (this has NUTS in it), for dessert we got the panna cotta and Paige got the tiramisu. The food here is incredible and definitely affordable. The couple behind us even gave us free wine since they needed help finishing the bottle.
That concludes my time with Paige and our excursions in Venice. Check out the next blog post for how I spent the remainder of my spring break in Split, Croatia!!!