We just returned from a lovely 6 day holiday in Venice - I've written this for four days since we moved a lot more slowly with an infant. Though it seems there is never an "off-season" in Venice, September seemed incredibly crowded, especially the hot spots like San Marcos Square. Still, the weather was perfect nearly every day, allowing for lots of wandering through alleys, boat rides, and general relaxation. Here's what we did:
Day 1: Arrived late to the Residenza Valier, an apartment near the San Silvestro vaporetto stop. The next morning, I wandered to a Coop grocery store for some coffee and other provisions. I stopped by the Pasticcieria Rizzardini for a few mini pastries and cookies which went perfectly with coffee and well... everything else. We headed out to explore the Rialto Bridge, get lost among the alleys and canals, and have a delicious pizza at Rosa Rossa. We wandered by the Rialto Mercato and some of the touristy shops along the walk, but didn't buy anything yet. I found a lot of repetition in shopping around Venice - lots of Vera Pelle leather shops selling the same wares, trinket shops selling the same Murano glass goodies (I bought a cheese slicing set, beaded necklace, and wine bottle stopper), and mask shops. The good of that was that you didn't really need to window shop in all of the districts as you wandered, you could easily stick to the shops nearest where you were staying, especially since prices were always the same.
After a day of wandering, we finished it up with a tasty dinner at Trattoria Alla Madonna - I enjoyed their squid ink pasta and their tiramisu was among the best I've ever had.
Day 2: More wandering, this time to the Frari and the Accademia to see the lovely Accademia Bridge. Though it was too beautiful a day to spend it inside a museum, it looked promising for another time. We also wandered to the Cannareggio district to see the "end" of the island, and the Jewish Ghetto. We learned that Venice is really all about the wandering - getting lost, getting found, dodging tourists along the way. I was grateful for a data plan so google maps would help us find our way! Dinner at Muro near the Frari wrapped up another great day.Day 3: Islands! We only went to Burano but had hear wonderful things about nearby Torcello. We heard Murano was very touristy, so skipped it entirely and enjoyed spending a leisurely afternoon wandering the smaller and colorful island of Burano. There are far fewer bridges than Venice, so taking a stroller was much easier here, but we were glad we brought the baby carrier just in case the little one got tired of being rolled up and down so many steps. Note, there were two ways to get there but the better / faster way is the vaporetto 12 from Fondamente Nove. It leaves approximately every 30 minutes; you can check the timetables here.You can also go from San Marco Zaccaria but it can take up to 2 hours.
Day 4: Today was a bit slow to start, so we went straight for lunch. Our lunches were simple ciccheti combinations at a bacari near our apartment, Osteria da Alberto. For dinner, I'd recommend a splurge - we actually went to Vecio Fritolin for lunch since a certain someone likes to be in bed by 7:30 pm - but the prices are pretty similar for both meals and the food was delicious. Always good to follow a meal with a gelato and there are stands just about everywhere - note that the places along the Grand Canal often charge .50 to 1.00 euros more than the other spots for the same thing. I really liked tiramisu and amarena, but I don't think I've met a gelato I didn't like....
All in all, a great trip... and inspiration for further Italian travels!
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