Venice: only somewhat off the beaten path

The best part of planning a vacation (for me) is researching the destination, and hoping that the decisions you make ahead of time are the right ones, leaving enough undecided for spontaneity. Maybe some of you can arrive in a city without hotel reservations, but I like reading reviews and looking at maps to find a good place to stay. It feels great knowing where to go when we arrive, and having some idea of what to expect.

Because the weekend before our cruise was a festival weekend in Venice, we elected to stay on the nearby island of Murano in a larger, quieter room, at a better rate, compared with Venetian hotel rooms. I would highly recommend staying on a nearby island unless you become seasick on water. We had clear directions on which water transportation to take from the airport to the island of Murano, and we wheeled our luggage to the B&B without climbing over canal bridges. Even if you don’t stay on Murano, go see it if you have time. The first evening, we just walked around Murano and had a terrific dinner of asparagus soup, pasta, and of course gelato!

The next morning, we took another ferry boat over to Venice, just a short distance. We walked 5 miles that day, through clean, narrow alleys, along the grand canal, and cut across lovely, sunny squares with restaurants and cafes. The prices of most meals and snacks were high, since we wanted to sit down for a few minutes and use the establishment’s restrooms, rather than grabbing a snack on the run. Portable sandwiches and ice cream cones are not too pricey.

Although I don’t mind bargaining, the gondola rides were a fixed price, and gave us a good view of every building’s back door. There were plenty of touristy shops with souvenirs made in China, but we were thrilled to discover some gems of truly local wares, such as a tiny place selling ONLY items with BLACK CATS on them. HELLO!!!! The artist who painted some of the items had a black cats in Venice calendar, which I will turn into framed prints after each month in 2018.

I wish we had longer in Venice, but it was a wonderful chance to add a few days to our cruise vacation. We didn’t mind at all that the boat from Murano to the cruise terminal took over an hour, stopping at many points of interest all around Venice. I wouldn’t consider staying anywhere else other than Murano in the future.