Venice was that one city I was on the fence about--it seemed silly not to go there, being in Italy, and not checking it out last time, but I just wasn't... sold.
Cue the moment we stepped out of the train station: sold.
Something about being surrounded by so much water, the vastness of it and the fact that the city was built on it, was just so incredible.
SHOP MY LOOK
#spotthecat
We dropped our bags at the hotel, freshened up, and spent our first day wandering around. We got walked along the canals, saw people taking gondola rides, passed beautiful buildings and more.
When you think of Venice, like the pictures here, it's the island part of Venice--so the last stop on the train. There is a mainland, but that's not where the canals are. This was a really cool experience but thank goodness for Marco and his sense of direction + Google maps. It's so easy to get lost in the maze of paths inside. Everything looks similar, and there are so many twists and turns--almost like a real life choose your own adventure book.
After walking for a while, the hunger started to sink in and through Trip Advisor--yet again--we found a really great spot, slightly off the beaten path, for a pizza lunch. The food was awesome, the restaurant was small and clean, with a sizeable menu. And any restaurant with a chic bathtub full of wine is a-okay in my books!
We stayed directly across from the train station, on the other side of the Grand Canal, at the Hotel Carlton, which was so convenient. Aside from lugging our bags up and over a massive bridge staircase, it was the perfect spot.
They have a really cool rooftop patio as well, we didn't make it up there because honestly, I was in my parka at night, the temperatures really dropped! Still a nice option though, especially during the warmer months.
The next day we slept in--like really slept in.
Like 1pm in the afternoon slept in.
And it. was. glorious.
Normally, on vacation, we get up at a decent hour to take advantage of the day, but this was day six of the trip and our fourth city, so we were tired. It was needed. Plus, vacation is for doing what you want--and on that day, it was sleeping in.
Once we got ready to go, we grabbed cappuccinos at a local bakery, some pastries and continued to walk around and headed toward the downtown square to check out the shops.
We ended up getting lost on our way back from shopping and all was fun and games until the hanger hits ya! Fortunately, it wasn't too much longer before we found our way out of the Venice maze and back to the Grand Canal.
We grabbed an early dinner on the water (inside a semi-enclosed, heated patio) and for something so simple, it tasted amazing. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit and then later that night, gelato, naturally.
The next morning we packed up and were headed north, onto the next adventure: Bellagio & Lake Como. Can't wait to show you more of that!
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