The Modern Nomads

Venice is definitely one of the most unique places we have been to. The city of Venice spreads out over a series of 119 islands and is often referred to as The Floating City. Founded in 421, this city is located on top of what is considered the Venetian Lagoon located in the northwestern end of the Adriatic Sea.

There are no cars throughout the city of Venice as it has canals for streets and over 400 small bridges connecting the different islands. To appreciate the artistic architecture that makes up the city of Venice you really have to see in person.

Once we arrived I was grateful that our tour company had taken care of every step on this leg of our travel. We parked our rental car at the airport and met our driver who then dropped us off at the water taxi then escorted us to meet another guide that walked us through a few narrow streets until we arrived at our hotel.

Situated in the centre of Venice, in the same piazza as the Gran Teatro La Fenice and just 250 meters from St. Mark’s Square, is Al Theatro Palace where we would call home for the next 3 nights.

St. Mark’s Square is of course one of the most famous squares in all of Italy and here is where you will find St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace and many other must see spots when visiting Venice. We were lucky that we had a private guide so we were able to skip the long lines and tour all of these fascinating places while getting great commentary from our tour guide who was actually born in Venice. On a side note, I would say it is worth getting the VIP tickets beaucase not only do you skip the lines, you get access to certain areas that aren’t included with a regular admission.

As i mentioned earlier there are over 400 bridges in Venice but the one that most visitors want to see is the “Bridge of Sighs”. You will see couples snapping a selfie kissing with this bridge in the background. And while Venice is remarked as the “city of love”, the sighs that this bridge refers to are not of love. The sighs refer to the despair of the prisoners that would cross through it as it would be the last bridge they would ever cross. The bridge itself, built in 1614 connected the inquisitor’s offices of the Doge’s Palace to the new prisons. We toured the prisons and got to walk through the bridge. Back in the day, those that headed through that bridge, knew they were probably seeing Venice for the last time through the iron clad windows.

Another thing you may relate to Venice, or this area, is Murano glass. What we learned is that just because something has a sticker that says “Murano Glass” it doesn’t mean it was hand made or even came from Murano, so you want to be careful with what you spend your money on!

Our hotel suggested Mazzega Glass Factory on Murano Island for authentic hand made glass. They arranged a water taxi for us and a private tour. This place was amazing and they still have at least 7 families that still produce their glass art for them. And yes, it is all art, even the tableware glasses. During the summer months most of the artists are on holiday to escape the heat and have some time off but there are a few that were still there to work on custom orders etc. We met a few of them and they were able to give us a private demonstration of this very technical art form. The highlight though, was meeting Marco Toso Borella. He is a master glass engraver and is the last living performer of an ancient artistic technique (graffiti on gold), for which he is mentioned in the publication Artists Techniques and Materials published in 2006 by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. We not only got to see some of the current pieces he is working on, he gave us a personal demonstration of the intricate art form while we were there.

On our last day in Venice we went on a full day Prosecco tour. Now while most people initially think Prosecco wine when you hear the word “Prosecco”, there is much more to see in the Prosecco region than just the vineyards. We stopped at some beautiful towns, saw some amazing architecture, but the highlight for me was just the drive through the Italian countryside! And yes, we didn’t skip a stop by a local family owned Prosecco vineyard to do a little tasing.

The town of Asolo has spectacular views and has a picturesque setting amidst the rolling hills of Italy’s wine country along with a lot of history surrounding the beautiful Castello Della Regina Cornaro. We took a tour of Quee Conaro’s Castle and took a break for lunch at a little local cafe.

The next stop was Bassano del Grappa. Here is where we toured the Poli DIstillerie museum. Italy is known for their Grappa and this museum and tasting room was a great way to get well acquainted with this Italian spirit!

Bassano is also known for the Ponte deli Alpini – this bridge is famous because it was crossed by the Italian army on its way to the front line in WWI. While it was destroyed in WWII it has been restored to its original glory but the most spectacular thing to me was the view from this bridge.

We really enjoyed stopping by Marostica, a medieval town located in the province of Vicenza. This town is unique because of the life size marble chess board built in the square. You can actually attend a human chess game with live horses and knights which is performed every two years in September!

Other highlights of Venice were Harry’s bar which claims to be the birthplace of the Bellini. It is a very small bar and luckily there was a table available when we arrived. The Bellini is made with Prosecco and fresh squeezed peach nectar. Just be aware you will pay the price if you want to at $22 Euro for a small Bellini but it was worth it!

And another great place to stop is Caffé Fiando. This historic café opened on December 29, 1720 in St. Mark’s square where it still stands today. You want to stop here in the morning when the seating is in the shade. They do have indoor seating as well but to enjoy the live music the outdoor seating was the best.

Taverna La Fenice was located across from our hotel and had probably the best cocktails by far and we had dinner there one night and would highly recommend. They have a great bar area outdoors and was the perfect place to relax and people watch. This restaurant was probably one of our best meals while in Venice.

The other notable dinner spot was Rosa Rossa Ristorante where we had a pizza and was my favorite pizza stop of our visit and the family that runs this restaurant has been there for over 40 years.

A FEW MORE TIPS IF VISITING VENICE:

THE HEAT: The biggest tip I would give you about Venice is to not go in August. The temperatures were in the mid 90’s (F) but felt more like 100. during our visit and it was extremely HOT! So plan on wearing cool breathable outfits and good walking shoes.

BUG SPRAY: Oh, and one other tip is if you are there during the summer make sure you have some bug spray or wipes. The mosquitos are no joke, especially during August. We walked into a pharmacy to buy buy spray and the first question she asked was “after bite spray?” So that should tell you something!

ENJOY YOURSELF: This is a very touristy city so it can be very crowded but just understand that it is what it is and the city has grown to depend on the industry and your dollars to keep the city restored and beautiful. Enjoy some limonchello, olives(if that is your thing, it is not mine but Pete loves them), and be respectful to the locals!