Jane and I came to Venice many, many years ago!! And here we are returning once more. Last time we came it was February and absolutely bitterly cold but we had a fabulous time because we happened to be there when Carnival was on. This time it’s September and very different. Ever since visiting I’ve always said that this is my favourite city in the world, alongside New York. I justify this by saying that you can’t compare the two.
Well this time around we’ve been here just two days and Venice has certainly lived up to my hype. It is so beautiful. We are staying away from the main madness in Castello. Our hotel is Liassidi Palace and it’s on the Rio de Greci. We arrived by water taxi which delivered us right into the lobby of the hotel. When we last came (maybe twenty years ago) these water taxis drove you straight from the airport to the city but now you have to get a limousine car part of the way. Still the ride in the boat is fantastic and we felt like royalty as we sailed up the tiny canals and under bridges filled with tourists. Venice Film Festival only finished yesterday so I guess people were thinking we were Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Lady Gaga or Nicole Kidman!
After settling into our hotel we ventured out on what was an extremely hot and muggy afternoon. However, it was stunning and a thousand photos laters we came back. We had dinner in a lovely cosy restaurant early and a nightcap back at the hotel. In the evening it rained quite heavily but we managed to avoid it,
Today was my birthday and we have spent it wandering all over Venice after I’d opened all of my cards and read all my messages etc. The sun was shining and it was a very warm day. We walked from our hotel down to the front passing all the gondoliers, the street vendors and artists and taking in the Bridge of Sighs. We briefly visited St Marks before meandering our way along to the Academia Bridge. We had sneaky peaks of the Grand Canal along the way. By now we were in need of a coffee but we couldn’t agree on where to visit so we didn’t stop. Big mistake…we wandered on in the boiling heat getting grumpier and grumpier by the minute. We crossed the Academia Bridge and then walked straight across Dorsoduro to the other side in the hope that there would be cafes over there.There was nothing so we walked along the waters edge right to the end of the peninsula at Dogano. Unfortunately, due to global warming there seemed to be a very high tide and water was lapping over the path. We carried on anyway and got our feet completely soaked. At the end the views back to the city were great…thank goodness.
On our way back we finally found a lovely spot for a drink by a quiet canal but now it was time for beer and not coffee! Very splendid it was too. Next I navigated us to the Hard Rock Cafe just of St Marks Square so that Jane could buy her shot glass. The place had only been opened for 15 years so wasn’t here last time we came. St Marks Square itself was now under about 10 cms of water. From here we walked back to our hotel where we collapsed exhausted.
I gave Mum a ring on FaceTime and it was lovely to catch up on my birthday. Then it was time to venture out again. Jane had booked a restaurant but it was 30 mins walk away and we didn’t really feel up for that. Instead we caught the fabulous No 1 Vaporetto which took us up the Grand Canal to Saint Toma. We had a little mooch about because we were early and then took our place on the romantic balcony for four. It was lovely and the Bardolino wine was perfect along with our gnocchi, Escalope Milanese and Jane’s fillet steak.
Back home we came on the No 1 bus in the dark and an easy wander back to our lovely hotel. What a lovely way to spend my birthday!
Where shall we go to next? 