So, during our trip to Rome, we took a train to Venice for a day and a half. Venice in a few words: breathtaking, magical, romantic. I have never seen anything like it. It’s so old world, yet so modern. It’s the guys in the striped shirts and the striped poles that I have dreamt of, but it is so much more.

I was quite surprised when we got there, how packed it was. But we were in their “rush hour” of sorts as we got on their water metro and had to go through all of these stops with the various commuters. It was so cool how it was timed just like a modern subway. I never imagined that there would be such a thing. Maybe I am in the minority on that, but I only thought Venice would be filled with super old and musty (but gorgeous) buildings and historical spots and that part was true.

I was however surprised at the amount of luxury brands that there were. It was like stepping out onto an ancient street and seeing old world Venice and then stepping into the future within a few steps to the Venetian version of Rodeo Drive. I didn’t like that so much. But I did love our romantic and whimsical digs for the night. Hotel Flora (https://www.hotelflora.it/) did not disappoint. The embrodiered pillows, the lovely views, the fab brunch and the charm- Hotel Flora is definitely the place to stay. ML did good!

After taking a quick peek at this fab place and changing, we walked out onto the streets and breathed in the Venice air, and looked at some of the independent shops. We were starving at this point because it was around 2. We walked into a ridiculous touristy type restaurant where the servers were more like snake oil salesman. It was the worst food we had in Italy. Tip, don’t go to a place with a plastic covered patio and too anxious employees:). We did have decent food in Venice but I don’t have as much to share because of our limited time there.

Afterwards we strolled by the gorgeous iconic scenes like the Doge Palace at dusk and the gondoliers and the pigeons on the square. It was nice as it got dark because it emptied out a lot. I really wanted a gondola ride, but being the sweetheart I am, I told ML no because it was overpriced. Honestly it was getting cold and the experience seemed cheesy. I was just grateful to see it in action and didn’t want to break my guy’s wallet. Standing there with him was priceless. I just couldn’t believe I was actually there, and with my best friend.

We had a nice dinner and wine at L’Opera, and then we turned in. It was very cold at night! Bring a leather jacket if you go in November! The next morning we had the brunch- there was a yogurt table with all of the fixings, a pastry table, protein table and bread table. Fresh marmalade and yummy condiments for everything. There were tons of drink options-Hot Chocolate, Americanos, Cappuccinos. We could not believe all of this was part of our stay. They did not skimp on any detail and the head chef (pictured below) had videos on the screen showing how to make dishes.

After stuffing myself, we headed towards Doge Palace for the tour since it was closed the day before, and walked tons seeing as much possible. On a whim, we crossed the water to another island that was the part of Venice that we loved the most. I got gorgeous cobalt blue Murano glass earrings at a Glimpse of Venice, a place with magnificent handmade jewelry . All of the businesses on this side were independent and just beautiful. I had to get a slice of pizza there that tempted me in a window and ML got a gelati (of course) before saying goodbye to this mystical and special place.

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We really did not want to get back on the “metro boat” to get off at the stop for the train. The trip was absolutely incredible and a dream come true albeit short, but I am so blessed to have gone there. I would recommend at least 3 days, but 2-2 1/2 full days would suffice. We had maybe 27 total hours and it flew by. If you do get to go and you take my hotel recommendation and go to the other side of Venice where there aren’t so many people, you can get a true taste of Venice in its amazing and mesmerizing splendor.

Cool musician we met on the “other side”

Thanks for reading. I will be posting more about Italia in the future, hopefully you won’t get sick of reading about it!:)

simply~

Dee