My sister and I spent 3 nights in Venice and I have mixed feelings about this portion of our trip to Italy. It was beautiful but the hordes of tourists are a serious turn-off. Cruise ships - bigger than cities - come to Venice for the day and pour its occupants onto St.Mark's Square. It felt like I was at the Venetian in Las Vegas. And because there are a lot of tourists, street vendors are everywhere selling all kind of useless junk. Venice is victim of its success and is losing its authenticity. It was sad to see.
Also, my sister and I didn't plan enough time in Venice. We shouldn't have followed people's advice. I guess that if you only want to see St.Mark's Square, a day is enough. But the point of going to Venice is to live like the Venetians and we felt rushed. We got lost more than a few times too - even with a map - and it is very frustrating when you don't have time to get lost. We saw an American girl in an Internet Cafe who stopped by to ask for directions. She looked so lost. When the Internet guy told her that it was typical in Venice to get lost - that after 12 years of living there he still got lost - she looked like she was about to burst in tears.
On the other hand, the Venetian food was sooo good. I would go back just for the food. My sister and I had the most wonderful evening at the Ristorante Riviera. You must forget about pizza in Venice and go for their specialties. If you like fish and seafood, you are going to be in heaven.
Overall, I am glad that I went. Venice is fascinating but I would do a couple things differently. I like to live like a local and get to know the place when I travel. I don't want to stop by some famous monument, take a picture and leave. This is what it felt like and I didn't like it. So if you ever go to Venice, plan extra time so when you will get lost you will see it as an adventure not as a big pain. Also, try to find stuff off the beaten path so you have a true venetian experience and not a touristic one.
.jpg)
PS If you want to see the first portion of my trip - Rome, click here.
All photos by me and my sister
-
No comments:
Post a Comment