Italy - Venice

Arriving in Venice is tough. I came on a train and was immediately thrust into one of the most confusing and amazing scenes one could imagine. They say that there is only one place you can get to easily in Venice…lost. And it’s so true. Though I learned that city quite well after lugging my bag over the apparently 10 thousand bridges one must cross to get to my hotel…probably should’ve checked that prior to arrival.

Anyway, what a magnificent place. I really couldn’t believe it. Definitely the type of place that one should go with their significant other. Also definitely the type of place one should go to with a ton of patience (crowded as all hell, no significant directional signage to speak of, addresses that make no sense, and easily the most dead ends of any major city). But it is great. It smells like shit and will annoy the hell out of you, yet with every turn you really can’t believe where you are. Walking those tiny corridors at night is definitely a travel highlight of mine.

The city closes early. I found this amazing restaurant tucked away in the most impossible of locations (took me an hour to find it, called Taverna Remer, don’t try to find it as I’m not really sure it’s there). Once I was done, the city had become deserted.

St. Marks’s square is hard to beat and canal tours really are amazing, and the transportation system in general is just cool. Would I go back…probably not unless my companion had never been and was dying to go.

Sooooooo, my girl had never been and was dying to go so I went back! haha. We had an amazing time and stayed in a sick hotel, kinda far away, but walkable, and the style was perfect for us. PalazzinaG is worth checking out!
We took a private gondola to our hotel upon the train arrival this time, huge F’ing difference from my first go at it. Plus we agreed to drop off these girls going back to a cruise ship and it was pretty damn interesting to basically pull a canoe right up against what was the largest cruise ship in the world at the time. Expensive ride, but worth it.
e did everything you would expect and explored everything. It was fantastic, except for the crowds…they still suck, but we are all part of the problem eh

Some notes from July 2024:

Cantina Du Spade - We fell into this local place and loved it. Squid ink pasta. A killer frito misto. And a classic cicheti setting (we tried a few and they were great).
Antiche campane - We sat outside cause the inside was even hotter! But dinner was great. Gin and Tonics were the best you’re gonna get.
Covo - Very cool restaurant but very expensive. Right off the water.
The food was slightly less as good as the previous 2 places. But the waiter was maybe the best you could find in Europe.

We got an Airbnb this time. The house was cool enough with a great location and a nice rooftop sitting area. Wouldn’t stay there again though, too small and too cramped. The walk up was crushing too! You can’t get a venice view without a vertical hike.
The Venice food tour person never showed up which was ugh!
The Venice walking tour was fine but I wanted more history. It was surprisingly limited. The gondola ride at the end was uninspiring… checkmark off the list.
Venice is beautiful, but it’s more annoying than it is beautiful. Hard to get to. Hard to get around. Hard to find a trash can :) Plus I had to hoof it back to Genoa to get my girls lost luggage, this was no easy task getting to the train station. I booked the 100 euro water taxi on the way back!
I’ll go back for a kids history lesson, but that’s it. The Ligurian coast is too good to not spend the time there.

Notes to self:

-Spring for a private gondola ride if you’ve got a lady with you…the ones with others just aren’t the same thing
-Don’t walk anywhere with your luggage…like nowhere. It’s just not worth it.
-Hotels are almost universally meh in Venice. I really didn’t find any solution to that problem that is worth mentioning. And they are pricey. Like are you fucking kidding me pricey (for shit). Go for a view…that’s the only real bet to make (we now realize that this is mostly only true if you want to be next to St. Mark’s, regal and mostly lame, but we found a money hotel a little further out…).
-Dining in one of the cafes on the opposite side of Rialto bridge was pretty cool. Lot’s of nice hidden finds over there (not the ones facing the Grand Canal, though those patios are pretty sweet as well).

PalazzianG Venice - Jun 2016

This place was rad. We adored this hotel. Adored. Maybe, just maybe there is one downside which is the location, but I could see many people enjoying the quieter side of San Marco. I would say we felt just maybe 5 minutes too far off the beaten path.

This is a Starwood hotel, and you feel South Beach and the W everywhere. Stark white. Mirrors literally all over the room. Like everywhere. Like if you even remotely like the person you are with then it’s on. The windows are even mirrors, and open oddly to the barren street below.

The bathroom was huge and had a gigantic shower with rainfall heads that we used considerably. TV was good. Room service was good.
The breakfast area is a little boring but they did a good enough job with the outdoor patio and cool seating. In addition to being the breakfast area it’s also a bar/lounge later in the day. The bar and restaurant downstairs were as hip as it gets.
$600 a night (but we actually used points for the first time ever).

Notes

-There is a gondola “bus stop” right outside the hotel so that makes the location better I suppose…but we liked to walk.
-The chef’s tasting menu looked so incredible, but it was outrageously expensive so we passed.
-Everyone was soooooo nice!

Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal - Oct 2013

Yes this hotel is highly recommended in numerous travel books. Yes it is right on the main canal and one block away from St. Marks square (San Marco). Yes it has direct access to a water taxi and boat stop, and is right across the street from Harry’s Bar (home of the original Bellini, very small but very cool). BUT, I don’t get it. I mean, I don’t get it. You give me 100 square feet with a wooden box for a bed and I’m supposed to swoon? Throwing a chandelier in a room does not make it elegant. It doesn’t even make it livable. This place is why European hotels have a bad name. Plus, the main front desk dude was kind of a dick.

Side note…the lobby and “meeting” room areas are pretty sweet. There are far far worse places for wedding receptions, etc…