Arriving in Venice - The adventure begins...

Venice, Italy is one of those rare and beautiful cities on the Mediterranean you will never forget. It is an incredible city to spend a few days at, either before or after a trip on the cruise, just like I did with my husband almost a fortnight ago.

Venice was once described as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man" and I cannot agree more. I've always wanted to revisit Venice again and to explore this amazing city with fresh eyes as it has been a while since I was last here 11 years ago with my two (now grown up) children.

A place where you will get lost even with a map in hand;

A place where you will find yourself crossing countless bridges;

A place where you will find more tourists than the locals;
A place where without pollution from road vehicle (only form of transport is on water or by foot).

This is Venice.

We touched down in Venice on the 2nd October at 2pm local time after a long 15 hours flight, including a short transit at Doha.

We took the Alilaguna from Marco Polo Airport (which I would recommend to book online prior) to the hotel located at Dorsoduro. We choosed to stay at Dorsoduro because I've read that it was the "real Venice" without the crowds of San Marco and costed a lot cheaper too.

We appreciate that the narrow streets of Dorsoduro meant less tourists as compared to other parts of the city, but still remained close to main sights.

We dropped our luggage off at the hotel, headed out soon after to explore the 'city of water' and to view the beautiful sunset.

We made sure we stopped by at a local restaurant to fill up our hungry tummy first.

My husband and I both shared a plate of pasta and pizza.

 

  

The Dorsoduro panorama shot I took from Accademia.

Don't forget to pack a pair of good shoes when you visit Venice as it is definitely a walkers city. There are amazing nooks and crannies and alleys everywhere, hidden like a gem awaiting to be discovered.

In fact, we didn't even mind getting lost, because each time we did, we discover a beautiful alley or laneway that we wouldn't have otherwise found.

It was such a perfect evening to walk along the Rio di San Barnaba toward the Fondamenta Zatere.

                             Walking along the Fondamenta Zatere to catch the beautiful sunset.


The sun hovered briefly on the horizon, before it slowly and gracefully sank below, leaving the sky painted in a magnificent array of pink, orange and yellow.

The sunset in Venice was simply different. To watch the sun and its rays of light slowly fade away and finally disappears along with its shine; it was simply mesmerizing!

It didn't take long for the pale moon to peak out from under the black, night sky as we head back to the hotel to recharge our energy and prepare ourselves for a day full of adventure the next day.

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We rose early the following morning, and were pleasantly surprised to receive an offer from the hotel to ferry us to Murano via a private water taxi.

I had planned a half day trip to Murano & Burano, and I am glad we got to spend a good few hours at both the islands, just eating and wandering through the narrow lanes and across the short footbridges.

         We made our first stop at Murano, renowned the world over for its glassware and factories.

As the best form of transportation in Venice is by water, we hopped onto the Alilaguna boat (public transport) to get from Murano to Burano. This was us at the Murano Alilaguna station.

We then arrived at our second stop - the island of Burano, known not only for its lacemaking but also the brightly-coloured fishermen’s' cottages.

After a day of island hopping, we got back to Venice to continue exploring. We found ourselves at one of Venice's popular landmarks - St Mark's Square.

I cannot wait to see another sunset here at Venice, to watch its magical moment of beauty and warmth. 

Till the next post.