Venice - Part 1

We're going to Venice!

After much nagging from my family that we shouldn't waste the chance of not travelling around Europe blah blah blah...we've finally decided to go Venice. A place where I sort of yearn to go probably because of the movies and pictures I've seen where it exudes a mystical charm and given that it might eventually sink one day...but not anymore. And oh, the songs O Sole Mio and Santa Lucia ;>
The best is, it's merely 50 mins away from Zurich by air :D

Tip: Choose the seat on your right if possible as you can get to see the island as the plane descends. The island actually resembles the shape of a fish :)

So, I've been out of Switzerland liao, no need to nag at me anymore ya ;p
Probably this would be the one and only trip out cos both of us still prefer to travel within Switzerland since there are still many unexplored places. Plus we've been pampered by the convenience and the friendliness of the Swiss and most importantly, it offers what we like - nature :)

We booked Swiss Air (apparently the only direct flight from here). Though a small plane, it comes with very comfortable seats and was quite spacious too.

At the Venezia airport, we had to queue for quite long at the immigration and we saw a whole lot of Indians in the queue as well (dressing is similar those we see in our Little India). They seem to be everywhere...

We had arranged for hotel transfer as public transport there isn't as convenient (although the web states so). Apparently the hotel had no record of our booking despite their email confirmation. Anyway, we took a cab instead since it also cost €35 (about S$80.50 for a 30 mins trip). Compared to the rates here, we should feel lucky that our cab fares in SG are much lower...but you'll never know when it'll become as expensive as theirs.

We booked 2 nights at Club Hotel, which has a bus stop right in front of it with buses to Venezia and the Maestre town.

Anyway, we came to 2 conclusions:
1. European hotels must have paid a lot to get good professional photographers.
2. Take only 60%-70% of what is stated on the website.

We've also observed that Europeans tend to use 'intense' adjectives in their descriptions. Check out their website and compare the pictures we took below and you'll understand why. If you find your safe or mini fridge missing, don't panic. They are probably not there in the first place.

This is the hotel from outside.

No wonder they prefer using the night shot of the hotel to post online.

This is the "elegantly furnished" hotel room.



After putting down our stuff, we went to explore the town centre, Maestre. The whole place was rather quiet when we were there at around 3pm. Only cafes were open as it was a Sunday. Coincidentally, it happens to be the summer holiday for the Italians.

It was close to the evening that we started to see more people on the streets. We were told that restaurants here only serve dinner at 7pm. Not wanting to lose our way when it gets dark, we decided to pack pizzas back since restaurants have yet to start selling food.




The shops in Europe simply have very tempting items...fortunately they aren't open...



Chanced upon a quiet park on our way back and had our pizzas there, feeding the mosquitoes at the same time...

We ended the day pretty early for there was nothing much we could do with the shops closed and the limited TV channels. Plus Uncle Tan didn't feel safe enough for us to explore and wander at night here in Italy. I began to miss Zurich...and my laptop...anyway, it's good that we could sleep early that night. For those of you who are thinking otherwise, sorry to disappoint you, but no intention of Plan B yet :>

Breakfast was better than the one we had in Lausanne. In Europe, opt for American breakfast instead of Continental breakfast if you prefer a more sumptuous meal.

The croissants, cheese and salami are being 'rationed' but the eggs, buns and cereals are free flow. At least the coffee is hot and the croissants are warm.


After breakfast, we had to change to another hotel as we were told that the room that we stayed happened to be one of the rooms that require maintenance. Well, I always don't mind such small inconveniences cos usually it would mean better deals as part of the compensation. True enough, we were given a 4-star hotel a few minutes away from Club Hotel, albeit further away from Venice and Maestre.


Here we are at Villa Marcello Giustinian.

It was further away from town and has a long drive-in path.

Used to be owned by the noble Venetian family, the Venetian Villa is now owned by the Criconia family.





Fully equipped, the room is definitely more spacious with a high ceiling.


Happen to see this and thought there's something not too correct about the English version...can you spot it?

The long drive-in path leading to the villa was lined with various stone statues.

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Venezia

In my light gondola, at close of day.
When twilight's falling, over the bright bay.
Silver stars shining, on the blue sea.
In this sweet lonely hour, I think of thee.
May the good angels, guard and protect us.
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

After 30 mins of bus journey, we're finally here on Venice island (aka Venezia)!

It took me a while to believe that I'm in Venice, the City of Water, which is made up of 117 islands and linked by 409 bridges!

Upon arrival, we were greeted with a myriad of stores selling their local souvenirs. Oh they are soooooo pretty!! Control control...

All in all, the lagoon has a total of about 150 canals.

Uncle Tan looked quite 'Ah Tiong' in these photos with his pouch...hehe ;p

View from a restaurant by the riverside.

It was tough trying to navigate with the map cos there are too many bridges and canals. Even though they have the signages that indicate the popular places like San Marco & Rialto...it can get kinda confusing as the signages weren't very clear. But it was fun exploring the mysterious narrow alleys and deserted squares. It's a place where you can enjoy getting lost...minus the hot sun ;p

We saw many gondolas ferrying tourists. And we thought of taking one at the Grand Canal since the web said that offers the best view...well, my advice is, take it anywhere cos the narrow canals offer better views than the Grand Canal...but be prepared to pay cos a 35-min boat ride cost around €80 (S$184) per pax depending on how you bargain.

My advice is: try not to slash too much as the Italians are quite impatient and if you want a safe and pleasant trip (not having a black-faced rower), it's best to keep the bargaining moderate. Pay them more and they'll sing O Sole Mio for you. Cheaper alternative - bring your MP3 player along ;p

A floating market.

Ah Kin was very fascinated with the range of souvenirs they have at the shops & the beauty of it...it was sooo tempting but she had to remind herself her limited luggage weight and the space @ home...

The historic centre is divided into 6 quarters: San Marco, Dorsoduro, San Polo, Santa Croce, Cannaregio and Castello. The city's 'main street' is the Grand Canal, which passes most of the districts. Other popular nearby islands you could visit: Murano (renowned for their glassware), Burano (renowned for their laces) and Torcello (Church of Santa Maria Assunta and Church of Santa Fosca). Time is short for us, so we didn't venture into these islands and preferred to explore Venezia at a leisurely pace to enjoy its charm.

If you notice, the gondola rowers are dressed in striped shirts :) Some would wear straw hats tied with a ribbon.


If you're tired of walking, you might wana consider taking the Vaporetto which is a cheaper alternative to river taxis, and of course gondolas.


Not sure if you could see the 'coconut fountain' here. Many tourists were fascinated with this and were busy snapping pictures of it. Selling at €1.50 per piece.

It was a really hot day where the sun was pretty scorching...and worse, I forgot to apply sunblock on my face! Argh....!!! So you could see my face 'beaming' with oil...

I thought this picture was very well painted.

Finally, we were somewhere near San Marco by noon. Time to get refueled.

We couldn't find any restaurants near the river so settled at this one where they serve seafood, which was one of the dishes you have to try here in Venice. Besides, we're quite deprived of fish in Zurich.

We ordered a fish an a plate of refreshing salad for a hot day. The fish is sedap, or maybe we haven't really eaten normal fish for quite a while (minus salmon and the frozen fish fingers). The salad was kinda...too raw for our liking and it doesn't come with any sauces. What you see on the table is what we have for lunch. The bread is complementary. Wanna make a guess as to the cost of this lunch?

Total cost is about €40 (S$92) which includes €3 as tips. No wonder they say Venice is an expensive place and a rich city. Hmm...that reminds me of the literature text we studied in Sec school, "The Merchant of Venice".

Seems that the lunch time crowd starts around 1pm when we were about to leave.

Ok, off we go to San Marco, to take a look at the St Mark's Basilica.