Venice, Italy
For those that have been to Venice I am sure there was a familiar nod to the title of this post. Venice is many things: beautiful, enchanting, mesmerizing…
It is also a labyrinth.
People talk about getting lost in the beauty of a city, in Venice most of the time you are literally lost. It is a maze of endless bridges and buildings and inevitably you could wander for hours never having any clue where you are on a map.
Fortunately for me I was with Pete and Dalene from Hecktic Travels who had map responsibilities, and also arguing over who was reading the map wrong responsibilities.
Sometimes I love traveling with couples.
Venice is the kind of pretty that you want to fawn over it with that someone special….I don’t really have that but the Hecks are pretty special.
But Venice can also be dizzing and overwhelmingly clausterphobic. That is until you get to Piazza San Marco. In such a crowded city the vast expanse is amazing – although it could do with a few less pigeons but couldn’t every European city?
I had skipped Venice five years ago because it was flooded and I heard it was expensive. Wow was that a mistake.
My advice?
Don’t skip Venice and don’t skimp on time in Venice. I was only there for two night but I wish I could have stayed longer. Perhaps next time.
In two days you can only wander the streets, getting distracted by gondola drivers in their cute striped shirts, but I think there is so much more to this city. So much more I didn’t get to see.
Oh and if you are wondering about the gondola ride, no I didn’t take one. I may be learning to love the touristy side of places but I’m no sucker for a $80 fancy canoe ride.
I'm Ayngelina and in my mid-thirties. I left an amazing job, boyfriend, apartment and friends to find inspiration in Latin America. I'm creating a new life choosing what I want instead of what other people think I should do.
In our pre-vagabond days we only ever used to argue about Pete’s horrible driving, and now all we ever argue about is getting lost.
We had great fun with you in Venice, hope we can do that again soon!
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Me too, I will be crashing one of your house sits some day soon!
Lol, ok fruggle Franny…I am not sure that would appreciate you calling a gondola a canoe. Such great pictures.
Meh I’m over gondolas.
Totally agree that the absolute best thing to do in Venice is to just wander around and get lost. I was there in 2007 and I have been dreaming of returning since and now I am heading back in October with no plan and I know it will be fantastic because Venice is made for that.
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I wish I had taken so many more photos. I guess I have to go back!
Haha, I love that you called them out on the friendly bickering–that would have totally been Scott and me had we been traveling with you (given that I’m an ace at maps and he, well…is not!). =)
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Well Venice would test anyone’s map skills. Pete and Dalene are awesome and their fighting over which way to go was funny.
Is that $80 bucks a ride, or $80 bucks per person?
This is what sucks.
I totally hear what your saying about the tourist trap and not being suckered in to dropping $80 dollars for an over-glorified kayak ride.
If there is anybody that hates being burned by overpriced, highway robbery more then anything.
It’s me.
But, it’s kind of like. For some, their probably never going to be there again, it’s most likely a once in a life time deal.
As for me, I would have to weigh out a few more things first.
How long does it last? Is it $80 per person? Etc.
More then likely though, I probably would still accept the fact that I’m getting robbed and just try to enjoy the ride.
Totally jealous. I’ve always wanted to go to Venice since as long as I can remember.
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Oops it’s 80 Euro so more. I’m not sure if its per person or not. But if you want to go, wait a day until you see them first. After seeing them for two days I was happy that I hadn’t gone.
it is euro 80 per ride and it usually last 30-40 minutes. If you consider that a gondola cost over 100,000 euros to buy, you soon can understand why they gondoliers have to charge so much.
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You know that is a really good point. I never thought about the investment in the boat.
We got lost there too at night. Its really creepy, often times we turn to streets on a dead end. Dead end meant you head straight to the water.
lol about the Hecks fighting over who had the map wrong! My husband and I have had a few of those recently.
About Venice, I love it. I was there 3 times in the dead of winter and thought it was amazing. The history and art there are incredible. Nobody who rips Venice seems to take into account its significance. Amazing place, but if people go in the summer, they need to know what they’re in for!
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Such great photos. It really reflected the spirit of the place.
Yes, it would be great if you stay an experience the life in Venice longer.
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Loved walking the streets of Venice, most of the time didn’t use a map, found turtles in a park, found a local market on a barge in the back waters & ran through the birds in St Marks Square. All of which was amazing
I don’t think I could go to Venice alone because I would be so lost in a place like that. I like cities with a grid structure, so I can actually read a map
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This is definitely the kind of place where you break down and cry because you are lost.
That first shot took my breath away!
Sometimes getting lost is the best way to see a new place…. embracing the moment.
I was lost 90% of the time I was in Venice…and loved every minute of it
I had the same thought about the overpriced gondolas when I was in Venice. My fave part was literally getting lost in the streets as you have talked about. We had a week there though, Ayngelina and that still wasn’t enough. How long IS long enough really, for a place you love?
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At least when you get lost in Venice it’s somewhere beautiful! There are plenty of worse places to lose your way. And I love that photo of the Piazza with St. Mark’s in the background. It has a nice mood.
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