Hello All, 

This post, about the beautiful Venice, is a piece by my friend and fellow travel blogger, Goitsimang Makanda! You can find her witty blog on WordPress here. I am sure you’ll enjoy this post and it’s colourful pictures as much as I did!

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Venice is one of those cities that I’ve spent years drooling over the pictures and reading travel blogs about. Its waterways and bridges have long been plastered on my Pinterest boards. I just had to see it in person and my 27th birthday presented the perfect opportunity for a cultured weekend break.
Venice is a marvel of engineering, perfectly situated across a group of 118 small islands, separated by canals and linked together by bridges. This city of water is nothing short of a dream land.

I arrived at midnight and even under moonlight, you could still appreciate Venice’s untampered beauty. I stepped off the ferry and was confronted by the breath-taking beauty and romance of the city. Under the moonlight, the buildings were gleaming, standing tall in their ornate grandeur. It felt like I’d stepped back in time. The city is oozing with character and authenticity. There is no pretentiousness. I completely fell in love and our walk through the narrow lanes to our hotel filled me with so much excitement. I couldn’t wait for the sun to rise so I could see the city in its full glory.

I booked to spend 3 full days in Venice. The spontaneity in the way the trip was planned meant that I didn’t know what exactly I was going to do or see till I got there. Luckily, the owner of the gorgeous guest house I stayed in was more than happy to drop her pearls of wisdom about all things fabulous in Venice. This invaluable local insight, in conjunction with the help of the Get Your Guide app helped us make the most of our time there.

So, instead of boring you with how we woke up every morning and had breakfast on a terrace overlooking Venice’s tiled roofs and gorgeous canals, I thought I’d just give you a breakdown of the highlights. 

1. The three-island tour.

I usually HATE organised tours. It’s that feeling of being a herded sheep I cannot stand. But this one was so worth it due to the limited time we had.We used the Get Your Guide app to book the tour and it was perfect. All the tour company did was to drop us off at the location and then they told us what time to come back, so we were free to wander, marvel and explore. 

First, we visited the Murano Island where famous Murano Glass makers can be found. There we had the opportunity to watch a glassblower practice his craft, followed by a tour of the workshop gallery, showcasing breathtaking glass items made by the Master Glass Blowers. It’s amazing what you can do with glass, from the fluorescent coloured chandeliers to the grand floral mirrors, each petal and leaf painstakingly crafted in glass.

Next, we went to the island of my dreams. Burano. Imagine a rainbow just exploded and covered all the houses in bright happy colours. That’s Burano! The houses on this island are an eclectic mix of broad and vibrant colours. Every single house was the backdrop for a stunning picture. 

The last island was Torcello, which had some of the coolest bridges I’d seen in my time in the region. Torcello also had historical churches which are well preserved and I enjoyed the best fast food I’ve ever had there! 

2. The Libreria Acqua Alta

As an avid reader and lover of bookshops and libraries, I couldn’t leave Venice without visiting the Acqua Alta library. It was everything and more. The eclectic mixture of books was a reader’s dream. What makes the bookshop so unique and special is the presentation of the books. In the centre of the store, you find a gondola packed with books and as you walk about the store you will also find bathtubs filled with books. My favourite pastime is sitting in the bath with a good book. I have so many water-stained books at home so seeing this literature filled baths made my heart smile. 

3. The Gondola

“You can’t go to Venice without going for a Gondola ride” – That’s what everyone back home was saying to me when I told them I was in Venice. Personally, I didn’t see what the hype was about, it’s an overpriced ride on a long boat seeing the exact same sights I can appreciate by foot. But anyway, peer pressure got the best of me and I gave in. We found an experience deal on the Get Your Guide app for €27. 

I’m glad I had the experience. It was the perfect goodbye to this incredible city. Everything looked so different when gazing from the water. It was very peaceful and serene as we floated through the canals. The views were spectacular, including our hunky gondola driver (I’m sure that’s not what they are called?)! What they say about Italian men is true! Phwoaaarr!!!

 4. Getting Lost in Paradise

The super cool thing about Venice is that it’s a pedestrian-friendly city. There are so many picturesque and narrow alley ways and bridges connecting different parts of the city that it’s easy to get lost exploring. In almost every square you find something new. A cluster of unique shops or cafes, or my favourite, old grand buildings and churches with the most amazing doors. I loved wandering into the residential areas, seeing the clothes hanging up high and seeing native Venetians go about their day. They must feel like fish in a bowl. Tourist eyes peering into their private courtyards with vulgar curiosity. I’d have loved an opportunity to go into one of their homes. 

Now, before you start thinking we are uncultured – we of course also visited St Mark Square. How could we not? 

It was as incredible as the guide books said it was. 

I easily can rave about the beauty of Venice all day long but I must highlight at least one thing that annoyed me: Venice is EXPENSIVE!!! Getting food, particularly in the more central parts, is costly. Every restaurant seems to have an obligatory 12% service charge (but I must say the service is top notch, everywhere I went I felt welcomed and the waiters were consistently attentive) and an extra charge, ‘Coperto’, which is basically a charge for you sitting down. The mistake we made was going to eat in St Mark’s Square, as its more central, it’s pricier. I suggest eating at around lunch time as the lunch menus are cheaper. On a positive note, the food was incredible, I can still taste the mouth-watering carbonara I had on my first day. And the Bellini!!! OMG, that was incredible.

Oooooh and the freaking pigeons. OMG! Now everyone who knows me knows I have a profound phobia of winged creatures. The St Mark’s Square area is infested with the flying rats and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw people having them perch on them as they posed for pictures! One particularly distressful episode was when I was happily enjoying my Lasagne on one of the terraces and the woman on the adjacent table decided it was a good idea to start feeding her bread to the already obese pigeons. They were flapping all around my legs and almost gave me a heart attack. So, if you’re like me and you hate pigeons then avoid eating around St Mark’s Square.
 Other than those minor annoyances, Venice is spectacular and I highly recommend you go.