Europe 2024: Venice, Italy

November 4, 2024

My first night here and I'm absolutely delighted to not only be on the water, but to also have the opportunity to indulge in seafood! I enjoyed a glass of wine on the water while the sun set, then wandered over to a cute little pasta shop where I had the best gnocchi I've ever had in my life. One of the perks of Venice is the ability to walk everywhere. They don't have roads or cars but instead use boats to travel between the 180+ islands that make up Venice. I have a feeling that although I don't have a ton of time here, I will walk most of the streets here tomorrow. After the pasta, I wandered past a bar that had an assortment of Cicchetti in the window. Cicchetti is a traditional Venetian dish of fish, seafood and tomatoes on small prices of bread. I tried a couple and loved them all. I have a feeling I'll be indulging in more of those tomorrow. They're delicious. After the Cicchetti, I stopped by a gelato shop before making my way back to the Airbnb.

It's easy to get lost here in Venice. The buildings all look the same and some streets just run right into the canals. I'm thankful for Google maps! I don't mind walking at all. It's nice to move my legs again. Plus, it's my last 40-ish hours in Italy, so I'm trying my best to enjoy it.

November 5, 2024

It's about noon on my one full day here in Venice. It's just about 60 degrees and the sun is beaming. I slept awful but managed to find a delicious little breakfast spot for avocado toast with bacon and a poached egg. I ordered their fresh squeezed orange juice and oh my goodness, it was DIVINE. I am quite content for the first half of the day. If anything, I need to walk off the food for several hours.

After breakfast, I started walking through the streets and found some beautiful spots to snap some photos. Then I reached the edge of the island and walked along the water... I decided very last minute to take the ferry over to Burano, one of the many islands of Venice. It's a very small island but known to have the most colorful buildings in Venice. I figured, we've got all day, and I only have two more spots to hit on the main island, so why not go explore more? I'm sure I won't regret it, and I don't want to wind up back at the Airbnb again at 6pm, only to spend hours scanning social media. I'm only here for a short period of time. Let's make the most of my last 36 hours in Italy.

Italy is truly beautiful. Although it is not tourist season right now, the weather is about perfect. Not too hot, not too cold at all really.

After Burano, I headed towards a very unique bookstore. It was beautiful and cozy and just made me want to sit and read. I finished one of my books a couple days ago - read it in about three days because it was so good! I'm continuing to read a biography about Elisabeth Elliot. It's not nearly as exciting as the novel I read but it's good, nonetheless.

Food dinner, I chose a place with both seafood and pasta. Pasta again, because when in Italy! I read about this pasta place from several bloggers who visited Venice. Pasta was followed by another stop at the delicious gelato place I went to the first night. I even got the same flavors, coffee with dark chocolate and peanut butter. It was so good. Probably better than any gelato I've had elsewhere.

It was nice to walk the streets on my way home, although the weather is cooler. It's feeling more like fall here. I'm curious how London is going to feel tomorrow. Probably a lot more like home. Just a couple more days and I'll be home... It's crazy to even think about being home.

I got back to the Airbnb around 9pm... I decided to take my book with me to dinner, so I sat for a while and read while I drank wine. It was wonderful.

I hope to start reading more when I get home. I have plenty of books to read!

Back to London tomorrow...