La dolce vita

8 étapes
Venezia
Du 30 novembre au 3 décembre 2017
4 jours
Partager ce carnet de voyage
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Bristol airport, 30th November, 6.30am. Back to the road! 😀 Woke up at 4am to catch a bus from Cardiff this morning. I feel a bit tired but also excited to discover a new city. Venice, here I come!

[...] Flight went quite quickly, I chatted with my neighbors, who were also heading to Venice for the first time. Once I got at the airport, I completely nailed my way out, jumping border queue and running to the bus. For people who might be interested, you can either reach Venice for boat or by bus; boat takes about an hour and costs a lot, bus took me 25 minutes.

I met my Austrian friend Helmut at Santa Lucia (we met last summer in China), and the sun was shining so we enjoyed a cappuccino (for me) and a pizza (for him) in terrace! 😀

We then started to explore the city, and I should admit I was very surprised... in a great way! Venice has so many things to offer; loads of tiny streets and canals everywhere. I enjoyed getting lost in the city. Just a few pictures for the eyes...

PS: if you are thinking about a gondola ride, you'll need to pay... €80 per 30 minutes!!! :O I would rather advise the Vaporetto, i.e., the water bus, which takes you everywhere! Yep, no "normal" buses in the city, water is everywhere!

PS2: I did not mention about the delicious pizza and pasta we had, but cela va de soit ! 😀

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Lido is a long island near Venice; more quiet than this latter. Anna, a very funny Italian lady (with a very strong Italian accent) rents a room there. Two-minute walk from her house is... the beach! 😀

If you know me, dear reader, you might know that I cannot resist to the call of water... But I was wearing tights, so could not make it this time. Maybe it's better for my life actually, cause it was freezing. Anyway, it was an enjoyable morning walk, and I even collected a shell!

As it was raining on the previous day, and then dark, the view from Lido's harbour was hidden. What a nice surprise to discover the sea, the city of Venice, and the mountains at the back! :O

Even though it was freezing, I decided to sit outside of the Vaporetto (water bus) to enjoy the view! So, about the Vaporetto. You basically have 2 choices; either buy singles for €8, either buy 24-hour tickets for €20. Choice was quickly done... Knowing that boat is your only way of transport in Venice... 😉 Yeah, cost of life is quite expensive there, but I guess it makes sense. There are loads of tourists all year long apparently. So many French people!!! :O Mais revenons à nos moutons. A few pictures from the boat! 😀

Route 1 to San Marco 
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San Marco is the main "part" of Venice. If you know a bit about Venice, you probably heard about St Mark's square - that's where all the tourists go! 😉 Perfect place if you want a 9-euro coffee... :O But it's a nice area, and there are lots of lovely places around.

Random anecdote: be careful when you walk around, you might end up in a "cul-de-sac" with only water at the end! No sign and no fence to stop you - it happened to me a few times! 😉 But you can find some really nice points of view from there - if you are lucky.

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Back on the Vaporetto!!! lol Some kind of hop on hop off tour of the city! 😉 Weather forecast said rain for all day (Friday = day 2), but eventually the sky was rather blue!

I do not remember the names of all the stops, but I know one of them was called Salute. Anyway, I believe that anywhere you stop you can find some interesting views/canals/church/etc!

Boating (can we say that? well, people say bussing, so why not!) was also a good way to see the Rialto.

After a looong walk - and some more food and coffee - I noticed some people on a roof. At the beginning, I thought it was a private roof party, but then noticed it was at the top of a mall (a fancy mall, something like Galeries Lafayette in Paris). I Googled it afterwards, it's apparently called Fondaco dei Tedeschi. I would therefore recommend you to check the view from this place for free, rather than following the Chinese tourists at St Mark's! 😀

Panoramic view from Fondaco dei Tedeschi 
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A few weeks before making my way to Venice, I started to read a few articles about the place. That is when I discovered about Burano, and I thought: I want to go there!!! 😀 It is about 1h by boat from Lido, or slightly faster from Venice. You can take the Vaporetto (i.e., the same boats than to visit the island).

I took hundreds of pictures from this colorful island, see a few here! 😀


PS: if you go to Burano, I found for you the perfect pizze! 😉 Go to the Devil, a tiny place with delicious pizzas (and quite cheap). Had a huge quattro formaggi there! <3

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Murano is apparently very famous for its glass. As it was on the way from Burano to Venice, I stopped there... but only wandered in the streets for a short time, as it was absolutely freezing! I did not want to die! 😉 Loads of shops with Murano glass, and probably some museums or factories to visit, but I should admit I was not very interested - and the island was a bit bland after Burano. Maybe I should have done it the other way around. Anyway! ^^

I managed to find a place with a delicious hot chocolate though! 😀

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I took the boat back to Venice. It was really really freezing, because it was not only cold but also crazy windy. But I still decided to go for a long walk, from Fondamente Nove to San Marco. It's not so long according to the map, but I did not take the shorter path! There are indeed always some appealing streets, canals, shops, and pictures to be taken! 😉

I got pretty lucky with the sunset also... <3

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Sadly, all good things end. Sunday 3rd December, last breakfast with Anna, who told me: "Pleaaase don't leave, I want a daughter!" haha! She is lovely. She left me a cute review on Airbnb. "Lucie e Helmut sono stati molto educati, simpatici, comunicativi. Hanno lasciato tutto in ordine e consiglio a tutti di ospitarli molto volentieri."

I took the Vaporetto for the last time, and enjoyed the sun from the back of the boat... <3 Before taking a bus to Marco Polo, a plane to Bristol airport, a bus to to Bristol, a bus to Cardiff, and my bike "home".

Arrivederci! 😀

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Random note. I went to Italy a few times: Roma in 2014, Venezia in 2017, Sardegna in 2018, and Torino in 2020. What's next? I would love to explore Parco Nazionale Gran Paradisio (not so far from Chambéry), Cinque Terre, and of course the Dolomites! Stay posted for more adventures! 😀