The journey to romantic Venice

 

I was looking for a nice city trip for my boyfriend's birthday. Once I found a good deal on the internet for Venice, I didn't hesitate and immediately booked a trip to this romantic water city. I would like to take you back in time.

Will our flight go through?

This morning the alarm went off early. We did not board the plane until evening, but given the stormy weather it seemed wise to get up on time. It had snowed heavily for the past three days, leaving a thick layer of snow on the roads. Because flying in this weather is not always a great success, we decided to check the flight beforehand. We were shocked to find a significant number of canceled flights. Fortunately, our flight hadn't been cancelled, but just to be sure I made a phone call to Ryanair and Düsseldorf Weeze airport. Unfortunately they could not give us any clarity and we just had to leave on time.

Once in the car it seemed to be not too bad for us. We had left early and the roads were nicely paved. Nothing stood in the way of catching our flight on time. Unfortunately, this thought quickly turned into stress once we crossed the German border. The German roads were not cleared, so there was a lot of snow on the road. From that moment on we ended up in a traffic jam. The scary thing about the road was that in the countryside we couldn't see even a meter ahead, after which crossing at intersections became life-threatening. Nevertheless, we had survived the hellish car ride, and in time too. With two hours delay we finally left for Venice.

The bus to Venice was already waiting at Treviso airport. Unlike the car ride in the morning, the bus was able to continue. After about an hour of driving we could see the city lights of Venice in the distance. It was already quite late, but luckily we had a clear route description and we only had to walk for 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the route description turned out to be quite outdated, so it took us an hour and a half instead of 10 minutes. In the evening we walked into the city and drank a cocktail in a cafe, which was too dirty for words.

St. Mark's Square

Today we celebrated our birthday and we got up early for a nice breakfast, by Italian standards. After breakfast we went to walk into Venice. Where yesterday we still walked through the center in silence, today it was bustling with the many market stalls. There was really anything and everything for sale on this market.

Near St. Mark's Square, we went shopping for 'a little bit' before entering the church. I still wanted to have a typical mask for my home on the wall. We were approached by many shopkeepers and we noticed that half were Chinese. One tip is to never buy anything from the Chinese, because the products they offer are made by children and are of poor quality. Always check whether there is an official sticker on the bottom with 'made in Italy' on it.

After shopping we decided to have lunch in an Italian restaurant. When we sat at the table for fifteen minutes, we noticed that the staff wanted us to leave. The cook and the servant stared at us sternly, arms folded. Not much later they turned off the music and more and more lights were extinguished. After a quick bite to eat, we quickly left for the basilica without tipping. In front of the basilica there were all kinds of scaffolding that you had to walk on to get into the church. St Mark's Square was completely under water. Since we were both carrying bags with us, we were only allowed in with one person at a time. After a quick glance at the basilica, we went to the pigeons. If you dropped even one crumb, there were already 4 pigeons on your head, arms and shoulders. This was a very nice sight.

After visiting the basilica, we went looking for the famous Rialto Bridge. We were very curious about the Canal Grande and this bridge would give a nice view over the largest canal in Venice. When we arrived it was very busy and we were asked from all sides to take pictures of posing people. There were still some nice market stalls on the bridge, but not much later we continued, looking for a nice restaurant.

St. Mark's Basilica, VeniceSt. Mark's Basilica, Venice

To celebrate the birthday optimally, a good Italian restaurant was needed. The food we had in the restaurant was excellent, but the service was poor. When we walked in, we were almost literally pulled by our coats to a table where we were then unfriendly

received by the waiter. The waiter asked everything to my friend and did not give me a glance, which I experienced as very unprofessional. Fortunately, we didn't let our fun spoil and we made it a nice evening all in all.

Grand Canal

This was the last day of our city trip. Because we wanted to see the Grand Canal up close, we decided to go here right after breakfast. My friend, an avid rower, was immediately sold when he saw the Grand Canal in front of him. During our route we were approached a lot by Italian men with gondolas, who offered a 'special price' of no less than € 150 for less than half an hour of sailing! We declined and continued on foot. Not much later we passed a boathouse, where some Italians were busy with rowing boats. When my friend looked inside for two minutes, the men beckoned us in. There we were allowed to see the antique rowing boats that were used for important competitions. Very special and nice.

Gondola VeniceGondola Venice

Since our experiences with the restaurants were not very good, we decided to have a nice Italian sandwich outside. In the center we saw a fish stall that was completely under water. The people standing behind and in front of it wore boots high above their knees to prevent wet legs. It didn't seem to bother the people and even with floods people happily continued with what they always do. It is a common phenomenon, especially on rainy days like this one.

At the bus stop we waited in the rain for our bus that would take us back to the airport. The plane left on time and a few hours later we arrived back at home. To this day we look back at a nice city trip. Still, we recommend staying 1 to 3 days in Venice, it's nice but you have seen everything quickly. The city is especially beautiful in the summer and is well worth a visit. We thought the waters were the most special.