It was Spring when I went to Italy last year and Venice was the first city in our itinerary. The weather was still quite cold and dry but there was enough sunshine. Me and Em, my best friend, spent two jet-lagged days in this elegant city of masks and water.
I don’t remember the sequence of our visits though, as Venice is a place to get lost in. There’s the Grand Canal which is impossible to miss as you will somehow end up there. And there’s the Rialto bridge, the oldest bridge of the Grand Canal constructed in 1588 and completed in 1591. This bridge is also a perfect spot to capture a panoramic picture of the Grand Canal but it is always packed with camera-toting tourists fighting for a space to take that perfect picture. Try to go there extremely early in the morning, chances are you might have the bridge all to yourself.
Rialto fish market apparently is quite a famous one since Venice is known for its exquisite seafood. We saw some of the weirdest looking fishes and shellfishes that look like it will be yummy sautéed in garlic and chardonnay. You can also find all kinds of dried Italian herbs, chilies, sundried tomatoes, truffle products, anchovies and many more in those little dry stores.
Not far from our AirBnB apartment, we discovered a whimsical bookstore without knowing that it is the self-proclaimed world’s most beautiful bookstore, Libreria Acqua Alta. The bookstore is impressively messy, and contains a full size gondola and bathtub.
It was still very early when went over to Piazza San Marco. There were not too many tourists, not too many (scary) pigeons and the charming venetian Caffe Florian was empty. There was live classical music playing at the cafe which kind of made us feel like we were in the 1920s. This is really a place to fall in love with.
The narrow canals and many of the architectures look very very similar. We got lost so many times, unable to locate our AirBnB apartment even with Google Map. When all the alleys and the doors look pretty much the same, it’s no surprise that we walked passed our apartment without realizing that it was our apartment. Makes us can’t help but wonder how did people back in those days manage to manoeuvre around in this city simply using paper maps?
I had also created a Steller Story on Venice using the fun and beautiful app. This is my first travel post and I will be updating more on other parts of Italy soon.