Maps and Gondolas

Maps.  Oh how great you are when one is in possesion of a good one. When, however, one is in possesion of a bad map, maps are very frustrating.  I had a couple actually,  and they were both terrible.  Streetwise Venice might have been good had I thought to buy one before I left, but alas, that was not the case.  Now having a bad map of Venice may not be an issue if you are there for a week. Strolling along and getting lost here and there might actually lead you to some great and unexpected places.   But, when you only have 3 days and you want to see a lot, a great map is essential.  We ended up using google maps so often it was crazy.  Thank god Skye has a iphone!!  We would be standing looking at a map, (or both maps) trying to find the street we were on.  Either the street didn't exist or where it should have been on the map, was instead, an entirely different street.

Google maps can be costly on your phone in an international location.  I guess this is another good reason to get an international phone before you go on your trip.  Having that GPS for walking is almost essential for the short stay in Venice.  If you don't have one, prepared to get a little lost even with your map in hand.

Gondolas.  Oh how exciting it is to think about going on a gondola.  You think about being sung to, you think about having a romantic ride down the canals, relaxing while someone rows you past all the beautiful views of Venice, but you don't actually think that it will cost you 100 Euros for 40 minutes.  That kind of put a damper on that.  100 Euro for 40 minutes just seemed a bit much.  I probably would have broken down had I been there longer and done 20 minutes for 40 Euro, but then why not just do the 40 minutes and get the whole experience.  So here is the skinny:  they are super expensive.  There is no way around it.  They get you because they know you want to do it, and most people probably do break down.  Venice's main source of income is tourism and let's face it, tourists are easy targets for that stuff.  My advice: if you do go on one, try to do it at sunset because sunset is a great time for amazing photo opportunities.  Try to get a gondola from an area where the skyline is packed with great sights.  Like Piazza San Marco.  If you are going to have 40 minutes you may as well have the chance to take pictures of some of the most beautiful sights in Venice.

Gondolas are available all along the canal.  Many of them are located close to the water taxi stops.  They will even stop you in the street to see if you would like to take a trip.  The opportunity to get on one will be there whenever you want it, so be choosy.  So, all this said, if you are willing to pay the price, make sure that you know what you would like to see on your ride and when.  It will make the price a slightly less bitter pill to swallow.

More great sights in Venice!

Ca' d'Oro.  Among the things on the top of your list to see in Venice is the Ca’ d’Oro (literally translated: "golden house").  It is an old merchant’s house, named for the gold facade that it used to have (before it was eroded by wind and rain).  

The inside has two floors containing many works of art, as well as frescoes in various stages of disrepair.  The views of the canal are spectacular and well worth the trip.  

Gallerie dell’Accademia.   The Gallerie is filled with art from the Byzantine era, during the height of Venetian painting.  It is an amazing gallery.  A couple of tips:  arrive at least two hours before the “last ticket sold” time is.  You will want a couple of hours to absorb everything.  We arrived about 45 minutes before the last ticket was supposed to be sold and were told that they were closed.  Um, what?  Also, the numbering of the paintings in the galleries is a little eschewed.  Don’t be alarmed if #1 is on one end of the room and #2 is down the hall and oh yeah,  #3 doesn't exist.  It might be gone for restoration and it may–or may not–be replaced with something else. Oh, and if that something else is there they won’t tell you what that painting is. Enjoy!  There is an audio guide... which only works for some things.  (Again if the painting is replaced you may find yourself staring at one thing while the audio describes something completely different.  The first time it happened, I thought I was crazy.  We were like, "I don't see any horses in this picture... unless.. wait, is that supposed to be a horse?  It looks to me like an old woman in a hat." etc etc)  There is a laminated guide for other things, but it is not necessarily accurate.  All this said, it is beautiful, but not particularly organized.  If you can get past that and just go with the flow, you will have a great time and enjoy some fantastic art.


The Rialto Markets are worth a walk around.  However it is very crowded and it is hard to take in your surroundings when you are fighting to get through the crowds.  I recommend stopping at one of the cafés on the canal and having a bite to eat and a glass of wine.  

It will allow you to relax and enjoy the surroundings without getting bumped and pushed.  The shops have a lot of touristy stuff (there are a few mixed in that are a little more original) but on the whole, your shopping will probably get done in other areas of town.  While you are in the area, you should take a walk down to the fresh food stalls and see all they have to offer.  It is really colorful and fun.

Basilica di San Marco and The Palazzo Ducale

We were only in Venice for two days and we covered a lot.  Of course you will go to the Basilica di San Marco and the Piazza San Marco.  (The Piazza San Marco is very beautiful at night and you should take a second trip there after sunset to soak up the atmosphere).  

While at the Basilica,  climbing to the top is a must.  There are some exquisite views of the Piazza as well as the magnificent detail on the top of the building that are too good to be missed.  If you like taking photographs and have a good zoom lens you will also be able to take some great pictures of the surrounding buildings. 

From there you will want to make your way over to the Campanile.  You can take an elevator to the top for the views it offers of the whole city. 

If you are pressed on time, don’t dawdle too much because you will want to make your way over the incredibly impressive Palazzo Ducale. 

The Palazzo Ducale was once a political hub and home to the doge, it still remains the grandest of all the Venetian palazzi.  Arrive at least two hours before it closes.  Some of the rooms close early and if you arrive too late you will not be admitted to see them.  Although the entire building is more magnificent than you could imagine, nothing will prepare you for the beauty of the sala del maggior consiglio.  It is the largest room in the palazzo (as well as the city) and was the meeting place for the Great Council.  It also houses the largest oil painting of the world, which depicts Dante’s Paradiso.  It is a sight you don’t want to miss.

Fantastic Food Guide to Venice, and an iphone app

Venice Osterie - Apparently, as we discovered on this trip, the place to get a great local dining guide is in a museum.  (The first great restaurant guide I found was at the Villa Borghese in Rome).  We went to the Palazzo Ducale, and found this guide in the gift shop.  It looked good and so Skye and I both bought one.  As it turns out it is the best guide out there for Venice.  Our waiter at Osteria L’Orto dei Mori actually saw me looking at the book and said, “that is a great guidebook”.  Not only does Michela Scibilia (the author) give you the best tips on bars and restaurants, but she also provides a food dictionary in the back to help you figure out what everything on the menu is.    This book is also available as an iphone application called “Tap Venice”.  She also has a book on Murano (we didn’t get there in our two days) as well as a shopping guide to Venice.  If you are going to Venice, BUY HER BOOKS (or her iphone application).  I wish she wrote for every city in the world.  


 “TapVenice is the iphone edition of Venice Osterie by Michela Scibilia. For the past 15 years, Michela’s handbook, now in its fifth edition, has been Venetians’ favourite guide to eating out in their own city”.   
The guide contains only restaurants personally selected by Michela, who has lived in Venice for more than 20 years. What you won’t find in TapVenice is paid advertisements or sponsored recommendations. TapVenice does not require an internet connection. Maps can be consulted offline.”  

Great Restaurants in Venice

Skye had two recommendations for restaurants in Venice, and boy were they amazing!  Two very different food experiences, and both were fantastic.

Tratorria Da’a Marisa - At Dalla Marisa you let the chef (Marisa) control your experience.  There are no menus, so sit back and enjoy the ride. 

We tried to call to make a reservation but the person who answered the phone did not speak English, so we decided to chance it and just walk over.  It's a real family affair- Marisa cooks up a storm while you are waited on by one of her attractive children, either her daughter Vanda or son Stefano Bianchi. We were there on a fish night and it was scrumptious!  We started with stuffed mussels, a white fish salad, a fish tartare, a grilled octopus dish and polenta.  

This was followed by seafood lasagna with an Alfredo sauce, a fritto misto course and a mascarpone cream dessert served in a small bowl with biscuits.  The meal is several courses and by the last two, Vanda asked if we would like to share one portion instead of having our own.  That might have been the way to go for the entire meal.   A few days later, we picked up a fantastic local restaurant guidebook  (I will tell you about that tomorrow) that describes Marisa as “the most Venetian eatery in the city.”  It seats less than two dozen, most of which is outside along the canal. The food was traditional and delicious, the view was gorgeous and the atmosphere sublime.  You are missing a real find if you don’t eat here. 

652b, Fondamenta San Giobbe, Cannaregio 41-720211.  Closed Sunday, Monday and Wednesday evenings

Osteria L’Orto dei Mori – I think this might have been one of the best meals we had in Italy (and we had some amazing meals).  If the weather is nice you will definitely need a reservation to sit outside.  We didn’t have a reservation but arrived just as they opened and we were able to get a table inside.

Inside the décor is playful yet elegant.  Very cozy. It must be a fantastic room in chilly weather.  It was very cool!  

The food is a twist on traditional Italian dishes, and the presentation is like a work of art.  (The pictures of the food we will show don’t do the dishes justice, as the lighting was really dim).  Every course we had was phenomenal.  We started with tuna carpaccio, followed by spinach tagliatelle with cuttlefish & cuttlefish ink sauce (apparently a traditional dish of the region).  

All of the pastas are made fresh in-house.   Our last course was a beef filet with Bleu Cheese and polenta.  We had chocolate mousse with Kent cherries and rum sauce for dessert.  

The wine was superb  (a 2008 Planeta, one of our favorite Sicilian producers) and the service was outstanding.  The only words I can say to you are GO! GO! GO!!!!  This gets an A++ in my book.

(It is a little confusing on the maps, so you might be better off taking the water taxi to the closest stop if you don’t have google maps on your phone.)

Great Murano glass jewelry and other shopping tips

If you go to Venice, you are probably going to want to buy some murano glass of some sort and maybe even some of the paper they are famous for.  Whether it is a vase or a ring or a necklace, I like to have something that is different.   Most of the stores and stalls in the Rialto Market have very touristy looking stuff, but we found several shops once we left the Rialto that had some beautiful stuff.

La Nuova Cortesia –  Skye and I both bought several pieces of really unique jewelry here.  The ring she bought is stunning and I have a necklace and a ring that have earned me several great comments.  They are not particularly expensive but if you like the look of murano glass jewelry, you will get something that will really stand out in a crowd.

San Marco 3721.  41-2410915

La Ricerca.  Venice is known for making paper, in particular, marbleized paper.  I settled on some nice notepaper from La Ricerca.  They had a great selection of beautiful paper, not over priced and had friendly, helpful employees.  They even wrapped it in a lovely marbleized wrapping paper.   What more could you ask for? 

Ponte delle Ostreghe 2431.  Tel:  041-5212606

Viziovirtu:  A fantastic chocolate boutique.   I fully admit having an incredible weakness for chocolate, especially good chocolate.  This place took a little bit to find, but it was absolutely worth it.  Viziovirtu has eclectic and exotic flavors, as well as some really good traditional chocolate.   They even have gelato that is heavenly.  (Of course I got the dark chocolate gelato.  Is there another option when you are at a chocolate store?) 

I picked up several individual pieces and creams and a couple of bars (some were gifts) and let me tell you, it was amazing!  The violet with dark chocolate and the coconut cream were my favorite.  If you like chocolate at all, you should go and sample a few.  Besides, chocolate is good for you.  You might just end up thanking me for it!

Hotels and Apartments in Venice

Skye and I did stay at hotels for the rest of the trip because of the 3-night minimum that most villas or apartments have.  However we stayed at some great places.  In Venice we stayed at the Pensione Accademia in Dorsoduro.  

We were just a short walking distance from everything but the area itself was not too touristy and right on the canal.  It was beautiful, quiet and really centrally located for getting around.  There was a water taxi stand very close by.  They served a nice breakfast and there were lovely gardens in the front and back where you could eat.  The front had canal views so we had breakfast there.  The room was fairly spacious and modern and pretty reasonable as far as hotels in Venice go. 

If you are renting an Apartment, the areas I would recommend are  Dorsoduro, San Polo and Santa Croce and Cannaregio and Castello.  They are all out of the super tourist areas of the city and, having done a little research, is probably where you will get the most bang for your buck.  Keep in mind that Venice is not cheap, so you will probably pay more for a week rental in Venice than in a lot of other European cities.  We had dinner both nights we were in Venice in the Cannaregio and Castello district.  The area filled with interesting restaurant and shops, and it seemed from our dining experience, that it was filled predominately with locals.  Dorsoduro also has a ton of great shops and little restaurants and is very centrally located, so for a short visit that might be a better choice as it is very close to most of the big tourist attactions.  However any of these 3 districts are far enough out of the largest tourist area so that you can enjoy some of the quiet ambiance the city has to offer.

Good sites for apartment rentals include:

veniceapartment.com

housesinvenice.com

casadeipittori.com

rentvillas.com does have a few apartments in Venice City, but they seem a little more expensive than the ones listed on the sites above.  

Tips from the Venice Aiport...and an anecdote

After our week on the Amalfi coast, our next stop was Venice. We decided to fly, to save several hours otherwise wasted on the train.  Apparently we made the right choice.  Italians love everything about flying.  They cheer when the plane takes off, they cheer when it lands and they cheer when announcements are made.  They are generally happy people, not like us grumpy Americans.  And when the plane got delayed an hour they were only mildly annoyed, until the captain said they could unfasten their seat belts and feel free to roam about.  (Apparently they do not like to sit down.)  Instantly the plane was buzzing with activity.  No one wanted to sit still for a minute longer than they had to, especially if they could be up talking to their friends or other people.  I guess we should take a page out of that book when our plane gets delayed in the states.  Not only is it a great way to connect with your fellow fliers, it really makes traveling delays more agreeable.


Okay, back to the tips. 


Arriving in Venice:

When you get to Marco Polo airport there are a few transportation options to get to Venice. If you want to hire a private taxi it will cost you around 100 Euros.  (Believe me, there are plenty of other things to spend your money on in Venice.)  So you will probably want to take public transportation, i.e., the Alilaguna water shuttle.

The trip is approximately 45 minutes to get to Dorsoduro, which is where our hotel was located.  Get your ticket to the water shuttle at the big ticket counter before you leave the airport, or at the smaller booth out by the boats .  The water shuttle is a 7 minute walk from the airport (they actually have signs that count down the minutes as you go).  I found the path to be extremely well-marked and easy to follow, but if for some reason you have chronic directional issues or get freaked out by this stuff, this person has provided kindergarten-level step by step directions with pictures. If you don’t have a water shuttle map yet and are not sure which line to take, the people at the ticket window are very helpful.  Note: the water shuttle lines going to/from the airport (Alilaguna) are not the same as the public water buses (vaporetti) which run all along the grand canal.  

The streets in Venice are filled with cobblestones and bridges, so again I was reminded I should have looked at my own packing list and packed lighter.   I also should have gotten  a new, smaller, light-weight suitcase.  My motto is now:  PUT.   IT.   BACK!  Once again Skye was whizzing through the streets while I looked like someone who had just run away from home with ALL their belongings. 

 I was envious.  I am getting myself new suitcase for Christmas.  Won’t have any large trips before then.  I am turning over a new leaf.  If Skye can pack light, so can I.