Venice
The View
Venice was the final destination of our 2-week trip. Friends who had traveled to Italy urged us to moderate our expectations, describing Venice as overly crowded, hectic and expensive. This was not our experience, and I regretted that we only had one full day in this enchanting island city. Because Venice is car-free, and involves a complex and unpredictable street layout, getting lost is inevitable while wandering through the narrow cobblestone streets and over arched bridges. I typically hate losing my way, but I loved getting lost here, as we discovered architectural and artistic treasures around every turn.
We spent our day simply roaming around town, popping into shops and soaking in the environment. We avoided the crowded palace and basilica, although I’m sure visiting those locations would have been wonderful as well. For a view of the city from a charming and crowd-free location, we climbed the spiral tower at the Scala Contrarini del Bovolo. We also followed the general advice to “step into any church with an open door,” and saw wonderful structures and works of art, while escaping from the busy streets outside.
A note on gondolas: We considered experiencing this renowned mode of Venetian transportation. The price was steep, about $80 for a very short trip. Moreover, we noticed many of the gondoliers looking at and talking on their cell phones while ushering crowded boats around the canals. This did not seem worth it to us. Instead, we opted for an early evening ride on a water bus, and enjoyed 90 minutes of wonderful views of the city and the open water for a fraction of the price.
The Room
Hotels in Venice are often quite pricey, to the extent that many tourists on a budget will stay on the mainland, and travel in for the day. We really wanted to stay in Venice proper, yet be both walking distance from the train and away from the biggest crowds of the San Marco neighborhood. As we saw other travelers leave the train station and stand in line for jam-packed water taxis and water buses to get to the other side of the island, I knew we had made a smart choice when we reserved the Santa Croce Boutique Hotel, a pleasant 15-minute walk from the train station, in a largely residential and historic neighborhood.
Our room in this small hotel was quiet, lovely and very well air-conditioned, with an abundant breakfast buffet that was the perfect way to start the day. Moreover, while we certainly saw other tourists, the hotel was located in and near neighborhoods inhabited primarily by Venetians. The nearby restaurants were low-key, and we were able to wander the area and make our way around town without fighting the crowds.
How We Got Around
From Florence, we took the high speed train to Venice and walked to our hotel. We traveled around Venice by foot, and enjoyed a sunset excursion around the city and to Lido Island on an affordable water bus. The water buses can get very crowded during peak hours. We followed advice to venture out in the early evening, after the day trippers have left the city, and were able to secure seats with open views of the water in both directions (by exercising a little New York assertiveness, of course).
