Venezia

October 2019

Venice requires no introduction. Being one of the most popular destinations in the world, this small city welcomes about 30 million visitors every year. Obviously, Venice has been on our wish list too for long time. Earlier this summer, we had planned, booked and later cancelled a trip. Finally, during the Autumn school holiday we executed our previous plan.

Norwegian Air was the only airline that had a direct flight from Oslo to Venice Marco Polo airport. It seemed that they operated this flight only during the tourists season. We were lucky to get one of the last flights this season and at a price cheaper than in summer. The return ticket from Oslo to Venice cost us about 800 NOK (~125 S$) per pax.

The Marco Polo airport is situated on the main land and there are several means to reach Venice city or other islands. The most common is using the water bus (or a water taxi) and the tickets can be bought at the airport. The return ticket on Alilaguna water bus costed approx 100 Euros for 2 adults and 1 child (our 3 year old one didn’t require a ticket). After a ten minutes walk through a covered walkway from the airport terminal, we reached the water taxi station. The boats were operated at an interval of 30 minutes and it could accomodate around 30 pax. Hopefully, there is a different schedule during summer, if not, passengers could end up waiting for hours to board the boat. The forty minutes boat ride from the airport was quite scenic.

We were heading to the Rialto stop in the Grand Canal. As the name suggests, Rialto stop is just next to the popular Rialto bridge. Our hotel, Residenza Goldoni, was 3 minutes walk from there, in San Marco, the tourist heart of Venice. In general, I read that hotel rooms in Venice are relatively small and no elevators in the those old buildings. For those traveling with a lot of luggage, this is something worth noting. Moreover, they are a lot more expensive than many other European cities. The family room that we had booked was almost as big as a standard room in modern hotels (approx 18 sq.m). The front desk staff was quite friendly and helpful to guide us to a good restaurant nearby for lunch.

Italy – the land of Pizza, Pasta and Gelato! Probably for the first time, we were determined that we will not look for an Indian restaurant. We were waiting to experience the Italian cuisine.

After lunch, we took a walk towards the St Mark’s square (Piazzo San Marco). The lanes are very narrow with buildings from 16th and 17th century on both sides. While walking along the small canals, we could see tourists on Gondola tours. Some streets were lined with shops and bustling with tourists, while you can find some smaller lanes that are more quiet. We tried to avoid the crowded ones and took the empty lanes. Considering the crowd during peak summer season, we were quite relieved that we chose to visit during the off-peak season.

After a good long stroll until dusk, we walked back to the hotel. We took a wrong lane and ended up near the Rialto bridge. The bridge and surrounding area was filled with people busy clicking twilight photos. The sky was filled with all shades of red and pink. Spending the dusk hours along the Rialto bridge area is highly recommended, especially for photographers.

We were tired by end of the day after the travel from Kongsberg and walk around San Marco. We wanted to have a quick dinner and get some sleep. There was a fast food place close to our hotel selling pizzas, rolls, salads and pasta. We tried different varieties of pastas and sauces. The food was good and definitely worth the 6 or 7€ each!! It would have cost thrice as much if we had the same at a hotel.

We started our second day with one of the main activities in Venice – Gondola ride. It was a good experience riding through the narrow canals on a wobbly gondola, while the gondolier explains history and shows famous landmarks. Unless, you are a person who knows / very interested in the local history or want to see buildings (behind) where famous personalities (e.g. Casanova) lived, I wouldn’t recommend this ride, a must-do. If you have 80€ to spend for that experience, just go for it.

After the ride, the gondolier was helpful taking our family pictures on the Gondola. Then we walked towards St Mark square. Since ours kids wouldn’t enjoy all the historic buildings, we decided to visit only the cathedral tower. After queuing up for 25 minutes, we took the elevator to the top of the tower. That was something the kids also enjoyed. The 100 meter tall building gives a good birds eye view of entire Venice city.

We spent rest of the day free and easy, walking through the narrow lanes, visiting popular tourist spots and trying local food and ice creams. Of course, we did buy a souvenirs (especially the mask!).

Our weekend trip came to an end and we returned to Kongsberg by the Norwegian Air flight to Oslo next morning. Venice is a beautiful old city which could be enjoyed the best when it is not crowded. If I ever visit this city again, that will not be in summer and I will avoid the San Marco area and find a more peaceful and quieter part of Venice which is not too commercial.