Hello Chewys! This photo cute or not? Hahaha! π On the 7th day of our honeymoon trip, we left Florence immediately after visiting the Uffizi Gallery. It took about two hours to reach Venice by the intercity train, and we hurriedly got off, extremely eager to explore one of the world’s most romantic cities. π I really really love Venice and wanna revisit this place with misterchewy in future if possible. A number of friends told me that Venice is sinking?! :'(
The main modes of transportation in Venice include the vaporetto (water bus), water taxi and of course, the gondola. We purchased the vaporetto time-limited tickets which were very much cost effective than if we were to buy tickets on a per trip basis. This is how their water bus stop (behind misterchewy) looks like! One way for entering and the other is for exiting.
On the vaporetto with our luggages! Omg the speed of these water buses is really really slow.. Hahaha. I think we alighted around the fourth stop or so, at Sant’Angelo vaporetto stop because that is a mere 3-minute walk to our hotel. However, the entire place was like a maze and we wasted a lot of time trying to find our way there and pulling our luggages everywhere with us. The husband even tried asking for directions from this elderly dude at a hotel but he said, “Sorry, no information.” Freaking rude! >:(
Of course, we found the place in the end if not we had to sleep by the roadside or riverside in this context. What a relief. LOL. All that exercise certainly whetted our appetite and we quickly settled for lunch nearby.
Nice experience eating outside Ristorante San Stefano, in the fine cool weather with the sun shining down on us! π
We opted for the set lunch which included starters, mains and desserts at an attractive price and was quite a good deal.
From our hotel, we were able to walk to Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square) and we also passed by Hard Rock Cafe along the way.
St Mark’s Basilica.
It was really bleeding cold when we were hanging around Piazza San Marco. The winds were really strong and we stood there feeling very helpless because there was nowhere to hide! I think it was there and then I caught a cold. *Sniff sniff* π
As it was close to nightfall, and clearly, temperatures had dipped, we promised ourselves that we would return the next day for our gondola ride! π
Bridge of Sighs. Apparently, this bridge was named as such because prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before their imprisonment.
We sighed too. Venice is just so charming and lovely. Every honeymooning couple should visit Venice! π
I was actually beginning to feel a little under the weather but I was so enthralled by Venice’s beauty that I refused to leave because all I wanted was simply to bask in its misty and magical atmosphere. Venice has a slow pace of life which makes a great getaway for working adults who need a good break from work (and never go back). Haha.
It was getting darker and colder, and misterchewy had to pull me away so that we could go back to our hotel.
We stayed at Locanda Antico Fiore, a quaint yet gracious 18th century building, for two nights. This photo was taken when we checked out, which explains why our luggages were outside. Earlier in the day when we checked in, Lilia (I think that’s her name, based on online reviews of the hotel) came down the stairs and warmly greeted us, “Ciao! Ciao!” in a cheery voice. We really felt at home that very instant π
Lilia told us that all the rooms were occupied, so we were given a complimentary suite upgrade which we didn’t complain about of course π She helped us settle into our room and I must say that it was the nicest room throughout our entire honeymoon trip!
Looks like someone’s home instead of a hotel right?
The bathroom was a little cramped though. Well, at least it had all the amenities we needed.
I love the bedroom! So pretty!
Sorry I must add that I was considerably ill that night π Was having a sore throat and I felt weak all over. My mum had packed some medicine for me to bring along (she always does that when we travel abroad) and I popped some panadol and lozenges before going to bed.
I forced myself to get out of bed the next morning. Or rather, misterchewy forced me to. LOL. Cuz he wanted to take me to see a doctor but upon checking with Lilia, there are no clinics in Venice. There are only hospitals for serious and urgent cases, and pharmacies for not-so-serious ones.
Even having breakfast at the hotel felt like we were enjoying it in the comfort of our host’s home. Very nice! π
Our breakfast spread. There was an assortment of bread, jam and cheese. I took a plain croissant so as not to further aggravate my sore throat and I totally spammed on the delicious fruit juice. Had no idea what it was π
LOL. The husband insisted on taking this photo for me because the building in the background seemed to be tilting towards one side. Pardon the shagged face cuz I felt horrible and the chilly weather only made things worse π
Took the vaporetto and embarked on our sightseeing journey for the day.
Santa Maria Della Salute (Saint Mary of Health)
This Roman Catholic church was built and dedicated to the Virgin Mary after a wave of plague killed almost a third of the population of Venice in 1630.
More gondolas spotted!
Lunch time! We randomly went into one of the restaurants and had their set lunch. Hahaha really very value-for-money mah π
I felt much better after lunch!
Church of San Giorgio Maggiore
The Last Supper
Whoohoo! We were totally psyched up for the gondola ride! Prices were kinda steep though at β¬80 (roughly SGD130 based on the exchange rate we got) for a 40-minute trip along the small canal. Definitely a tad expensive but it’s not an experience that you can get anywhere else! Prices are more or less fixed. You can try haggling for the fun of it π Each gondola can take up to 6 passengers so that’s one way of splitting the cost. π
Headed back to our hotel after grabbing a takeaway sandwich for misterchewy because I didn’t have much of an appetite. We only got to stay in the suite for one night due to availability issues. This was the double room that we originally booked.
Checked out the next morning and had quick breakfast at the hotel before departing Venice. Guess where was our next stop? π
Leaving you guys with another photo of Venice taken during sunset! Connect with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy π