Venice seems to be one of those places everyone dreams of going to...and it was everything one would expect - dreamy canal ways, cute little bridges, alleys of traditional shops and all the while echoes of the Gondoleros singing in the distance.
My friend and I took a very convenient day trip while we were in Pula, Croatia, which costed us just around £90 return via a 3 hour boat! We just couldn't resist.
We took the
Venezia Lines speed boat, and you can either book tickets online or in Pula town centre. The journey was comfortable, not fussy and they had a small cafe on board if you needed anything. We also paid a small amount for the transfer bus to the port, and a gondola ride with the boat tour company.
You can easily book everything once you get there, but as we had only one day in Venice we tried to book everything in advance!
The Gondoleros skilfully manoeuvred their beautiful boats through the narrow canals and past one another...
Something I didn't expect was the Gondoleros all singing! It wasn't even cheesy, they are pretty good!
Restaurants and hotels line the canals, where you can stop off for a little pasta or wine
We took a stroll through Piazza San Marco, where you can get (a very expensive!) coffee while being serenaded by a live violin and piano band
We visited at the end of August, and it was SCORCHING hot and humid...the only thing that made the day rather difficult!
Wearing
Vintage camisole
Topshop skort
Aldo sandals
Vintage hessian clutch bag
Ray Ban sunglasses
On the way to another attraction - the Rialto Bridge
Cute windows lined the narrow streets, with beautiful artwork and statues scattered everywhere...they are hard to spot if you don't look high up every once in a while!
While walking through Venice's residential streets it's easy to forget that you are surrounded by the sea and canals, which makes the sight of them even more magical
There is also an area with designer shops which I didn't expect to find, but we ended up buying some lovely Brazilian style bikinis in the Italian
Yamamay store-make sure you go there as their stuff is great!
What you can't see here is our suffering from the heat!!
Venice is truly like a painting
The shops have the classic things to buy...Murano glass items, Venitian masks and touristy souvenirs. We opted for lace fans for the heat, and large tea towels with venice printed on them to take home.
One day in Venice, Italy was actually enough to get a taste of this little stunning city. I felt like a movie star being driven in the taxi boats (probably looking at too many pictures of George Clooney at the Venice Film Festival!) and I really enjoyed our little trip.
Like mentioned earlier, the only thing that bothered us was the excruciating heat, I really didn't expect it and it was very uncomfortable but apparently this is the norm for Venice. It was also at the height of tourist season so was extremely crowded everywhere, something that made the little bridges a little less romantic. We didn't take a map or guide book, we just walked around and got lost which was the best thing to do when there are too many tourists around. We ended up in quiet residential streets, sharing a delicious gelato and finally crossing the little bridges without having to push around with others.
I would recommend a long weekend in Venice, but be prepared to dig deep into your pockets (Private gondola rides are around £100!) and for the big crowds if you go in the summer.
I really hope this place doesn't lose it's charm, or sinks too quickly!!!
