Anna's Adventures

Out of the three Italian cities we visited on our honeymoon trip, Venice was definitely our favorite. It’s as if you just plucked the city of Venice right out of a storybook. This city is completely on water, and filled with canals. There are absolutely no cars in city, and you must either travel by boat or walk over bridges. Honestly, it can kind of get confusing but it is totally worth a visit, and I can’t wait to go back someday. The beauty of Venice is unmatched.

where to stay

We stayed at the Sina Palazzo Sant’Angelo, which is a part of the small luxury hotels collection. The hotel is located right on the grand canal so you literally can take a water taxi (boat) straight to the front door of the hotel. They offered an intercontinental breakfast each morning that you could enjoy in the garden area, it was very romantic. We booked a junior suite with a side canal view and it was really cool to see the water traffic from our window. The room was a nice size, although the bathroom was a bit on the smaller side.

OUR TRIP TO VENICE, ITALY

My husband and I are pretty strategic to never have to check a bag when we travel. We always have one book bag and a carry-on luggage each. Unfortunately for us, the gate agent made my husband check his carry-on luggage in Paris, and you’ll never guess what happened….The luggage got left in Paris and arrived later in the evening in Venice. We had to make two trips back to the Venice airport to retrieve his belongings. It was a mess but we were just happy that his luggage eventually made it to us.

I’m not going to lie, getting around Venice for the first time was a little crazy, and confusing. Our taxi driver from the airport dropped us off in a central location as cars are not allowed on the islands. Of course our maps did not work in this very moment, so we struggled a little bit carrying our things while trying to navigate to our hotel. We did eventually find our way to the water taxi, and got dropped off at the hotel. Of course being in a completely new city with no directions gave us a tiny sense of panic but, it all worked out, and we ended up having the best time.

After the travel day we had, we decided to go explore the city some and grab a bite to eat. We ended up at a restaurant called Birraria La Corte. We enjoyed sitting in the courtyard, and the Neapolitan style pizza! Afterwards, we traveled back to the airport to grab my husbands luggage before we called it a night.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast area is in this dreamy garden, and they served fresh squeezed orange juice. It was delicious! We spent the morning just wandering the streets, and pretending like we were in a movie. We even walked into a few local shops, and churches along the way. My favorite shop we stopped in was the famous bookshop, Libreria Acqua Alta. We took some photos on the “book step climb”, and headed out to find some lunch.

We stumbled across a jazz club pizzeria, so we decided to stop in. Novecento Jazz Club 900 really hit the spot. We sat outside and enjoyed the quiet, and cozy vibe. We shared some wine, and had the most delicious pizza. If you can’t tell, we really love pizza! Haha.

Like I mentioned earlier, Venice is a little confusing with how you navigate around and honestly, the maps might make it worse. We decided to just go with the flow, and wander around the alleyways until we saw something we wanted to do, and we had a blast. We ended up at Piazza San Marco, otherwise known as St. Marks Square. This is the main square in Venice and is home of the St. Mark’s Basilica, and Doge’s Palace. While we were exploring, it started to rain so we headed back to our hotel to avoid the rain storm.

For dinner we made reservations at Ai Mercanti. I am a big foodie, so I did my research before landing in Venice, and this was restaurant was highly rated, and loved by locals, so I knew we had to go. The restaurant is a family owned restaurant so it felt very cozy, and familiar when you are inside. We started our meal with a charcuterie board, followed by two different homemade pasta dishes. Everything we had was unique and delicious.

Our time in Venice was short lived as we had to catch a train to Florence the following morning, but we had a great time nonetheless. Next time we visit, we hope to have more time to explore and maybe book a tour, or two.

MUST SEE: VENICE, ITALY

• Libreria Acqua Alta – Famous bookshop with a photo worthy book staircase.
• Piazza San Marco – The main square in Venice that is filled with historic landmarks, and shopping.
• St. Mark’s Basilica – The cathedral church in Venice.
• Doge’s Palace – A venetian gothic style palace originally built in the year 810.

MUST EAT: VENICE, ITALY

• Birraria La Corte – Courtyard eatery that serves pizza & pasta.
• Novecento Jazz Club 900 – A jazz club off the beaten path that serves pizza, ad more.
• Ai Mercanti – A family owned restaurant that offers unique culinary dishes in an intimate setting.