Since our study abroad program is a short month long, we are traveling every weekend. API has planned two of those weekends for us with transportation, hotels, and excursions. The first weekend they planned was to Venice, the Venetian Islands, and Verona.
Transportation and Housing
We took a giant coach bus with everyone in our program to Mestre which is the last town on the mainland before you reach Venice. It definitely would have been faster to take the train.
Since we were traveling with such a large group it was cheaper and more efficient for us to stay in Mestre then on the island of Venice. I can’t imagine 130 people trying to haul their luggage onto the ferry and stay on this tiny island.
Mestre
We stayed at Hotel Delfino which was pretty nice but about a mile from the town center. Mestre is kind of an odd area, it doesn’t really feel like Italy if that makes any sense. It was very urban.
Some places that we went to in Mestre that I would recommend are:
- Blind Spot: Rooftop bar that has an amazing atmosphere
- Fratelli la Bufala: The service was incredible, they gave us a free pizza and limoncello shots!
- Grand Central: This restaurant had cool vibes and a really yummy hummus and veggie dish.
Venice
We spent the first day on the island of Venice and it is honestly quite small. I’m not sure we would have really needed more than a day. We started with a walking tour given by the sweetest older woman who was so well traveled and full of life. This is when we saw the really touristy and historic sights all though we didn’t get to go in them. The line to enter the The Basilica di San Marco or climb the St Mark’s Campanile bell tower were both so long so we didn’t get to do either of those although I’d have liked to.
Everyone always says that the best thing to do in Venice is to wander around and get lost. My advice to that is, eat first. We were wandering around for what felt like forever before we decided that we were really starving and couldn’t continue. At that point, we were deep into the island near the shopping were there wasn’t many food options. We ended up at this place called I Heart Italy where they served fresh pasta in Chinese to go containers. It was delicious and affordable but I would have rather sit down restaurant.
After lunch we searched for the hidden staircases that led to the canals to stand in line for a gondola ride. There is no need to book these ahead of time, you just need to wait about 30 minutes or so for one to come around. A 30 minute ride is $80 euros which is a standard rate across the island so no worries about trying to find the best deal. It is important to note that it is cash only. These can fit up to six people but truly, it is most comfortable with four.
The gondola ride was truly a dream. I had to stop myself and slow down from taking a million pictures to really soak it in. It is so crazy to me that boating through the canals is still the only method of transportation of goods and people.
We ended our afternoon with snacks and sangria at Bar San Cassian. This was the best sangria I’ve ever had and I truly just loved taking a moment to sit and enjoy my surroundings.
Murano and Burano
The next day, we spent ferrying between the Venetian islands Murano and Burano. Murano is known for its glass blowing factories so we took a tour of one. They gave us a great short little demonstration (literally 8 minutes) then left us plenty of time to browse their shop. I wasn’t super interested because I have actually done glass blowing myself on a field trip for my materials science class in high school. It was a genius plan for them though, to have a free short presentation and in turn get a ton of sales. If you have never done this before, check it out! If you have, I’d say skip it.
Burano was my favorite!! This island is known for its lace making but we didn’t go to the museum or any lace shops honestly. My favorite part of the island was the color! We wandered away from the main piazza and found canals, bridges, and colorful buildings with no people in sight. It was a photographer’s dream. It is everything you think of when you think of Venice. Burano is truly a breath of fresh air since Venice was so so crowded yesterday.
We ate lunch at Bar Cicchetti which is named after the famous Venetian snack of seafood on slices of baguette. There were not many options for non-seafood eaters but my friends loved the Cicchetti platter. Another cool thing about this restaurant is that the Spiderman cast ate here when they were filming their movie! So basically, I am just like Zendaya.
Verona
I loved Verona!! Maybe that is because I am obsessed with the movie Letters To Juliet, but so be it. If you don’t know, Verona is where Juliet’s balcony is and where Romeo and Juliet is staged. Now, there is a museum, a statue of Juliet that you can touch for good luck, and a mailbox where you can drop off letters to Juliet asking for love advice. There is a team of 15 secretaries who answer these letters and mail them back to you.
The funny thing is, although Verona is known for Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare had never been to Verona, he just wrote about it. The museum has an empty tomb to represent Juliet, even though she is a fictional character. Juliet’s balcony was even an add on to the building to make it match the story better. Basically the whole thing is fake.
This was a shock to me but I still wanted to play into the fairytale because why not! I touched Juliet’s left boob for good luck (odd but that’s what you are supposed to do) and dropped off a letter. I’ll have to keep you updated on whether or not they respond.
Verona is also known for their arena, which is even older than the Colosseum in Rome! They still host events here and it happened to be the finish line for the The Giro d’Italia bike race on the day we had visited.
Lastly, Verona had great shopping and food. Especially the food. La Brezeleria had incredibly large pretzels which made for the perfect snack while walking around. For lunch, we ate at Nastro Azzurro which I could not recommend enough! The service was fantastic, it was a great location, and the food was delicious. I got a super fun Romeo and Juliet Ravioli that was heart shaped and truly the best I’ve ever had. We finished off the meal with the Tiramisu that they claim is the best in town and I honestly can’t disagree.
If you are debating taking the time to see Verona, definitely do it. All you need is a short day trip.
Wine Tasting
Before heading back to Florence, we stopped at a winery for a quick wine tasting and tour. We tried three wines and they taught us how to use our senses to classify them. You start with one initial taste, then take a second taste where you let the wine sit on your tongue a bit longer, and a third taste with a food pairing. The first two red wines were heavier and were much better with the cheese pairing to calm the acidity. The last red wine was my favorite because of its sweetness and delicious pairing with a crumble cake. The vineyards looked stunning, it was crazy to see how small the grapes were at this time of year.
At first I was sad that API had only planned one day of the actual island of Venice and that we were moving around so much but looking back, I am so glad that we saw all that we did. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything either, but of course would love to go back with my family.
