If you didn't take a gondola ride through the canals of Venice, did you really visit Venice?
Gondola
Today was a full-on, fun-filled day. First up . . . a family gondola ride! Fun fact - gondola rides don't start running in Venice until 9:30am. Prior to that the canals are reserved for rubbish collection & other city services. Cool, eh?
We launched onto a gondola at one of the pre-designated loading spots around the city, just after 9:30am. Our gondolier was an outgoing young man named Frederico, who kindly answered all our questions, and expertly guided the gondola through the narrow canals.
It felt quite touristy to cruise along in the gondola, but at the same time it was a (pricey) experience we didn't want to miss with the girls. The gondola ride provided us an amazing way to see Venice from different vantage points, winding around this way & that. It really is remarkable how the city thrives amidst the maze of waterways. There's no place like it in the world!
Brace yourself for a boat-load (pun intended) of pictures of us on a gondola!
Palazaao Ducale
Next up was a visit to Palazzo Ducale, aka Doge's Palace, one of the main landmarks of the city. The 14th century palace was the former residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Venetian Republic. Doug's colleagues at Mimeo kindly gifted us this museum tour before we left!
Pasta To Go
We were in search of a quick & moderately priced lunch. We were underwhelmed by the food in Venice (Italy set the bar high in our experience in other Italian towns!) and didn't want to spend an arm & leg for mediocre food. We headed over to a place Doug had read about called Dal Moro's, known for its takeaway homemade pasta. It was exactly the kind of lunch we were after. Another fun fact - there's a rule that you can't sit down & eat on the streets in Venice proper! So we queued up and ate our pasta (in a Chinese-takeout-looking-box) on the go. It was actually really tasty & hit the spot! We also refueled with a post-lunch coffee before pounding the pavement again.
Vaporetto with Rick Steves
Vaporettos are the public waterbuses in Venice. Deep canals prohibit building underground railways of any kind, and there's no space for overground trains, so canals are the only viable rapid transport system option in Venice. We love riding public transport, and find it a great & affordable way to get around cities and glimpse the day-to-day life of locals. Public transport on the water? Amazing!
Doug found an awesome podcast by travel pro Rick Steves that narrated an audio tour along the Grand Canal via the vaporetto. Such a brilliant way to learn about the city on the go. Rick talked us through the sights & history along each stop of the vaporetto. Pretty cool. Doug & I were totally into it; the girls only somewhat. Watching the city bustle with life along the water is fascinating!
Afternoon Walking Tour
Our jam-packed day continued with a private walking tour that we booked through Get Your Guide. Our guide was born & raised in Venice and relayed what a changed city Venice is versus the one she's known; that tourism has overrun the city so much that it's barely recognizable to locals like herself. With only 50,000 Venetian residents left living in the city it had largely become simply a hollowed out tourist museum. She attributed the final blows to 1) cruise ships & 2) AirBnbs - where the ability for local homeowners to earn so much money for has caused many to move out of the city limits & collect rent.
We popped into random spots like Liberia Acqua Alta with floor-to-ceiling vintage titles. Best part was the views from the rooftop terrace of Fondaco dei Tedeschi building. Similar to the vaparetto podcast tour, Doug & I found it interesting, but the girls were past the point of being interested in two hours of adult cultural/historical chatter. A mid-tour gelato helped put some spring in their step :)
We capped off our great, jam-packed day with some live music in St Mark's Square. More on that here!
Full disclosure: This post is written more than one year after our visit! Better late than never :)
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