Wednesday 8 Oct 2025 12:00 CET
Sitting in a terrace cafe just outside the Venezia Santa Lucia train station having just shared an incredibly tasty Gustoso Panini, we are now lingering over some Thé Caldo (hot tea) and biding our time before we head to the platform for our 13:48 train, it’s a good time to reflect on the forty-eight hours we’ve just spent in Venice, Italy . It’s been amazing. We’ve opted to walk everywhere weaving in and out of tiny alleys and broad piazzas. Jostling through crowds with our backpacks the 1.1 miles to and from Hotel Rialto was a bit of a challenge but also an immersive experience of the heart of this ancient city. Once at the hotel we kicked off our stay with a memorable meal of Roasted Sea Bass and Vegetables at Rialto Ristorante. It was definitely a cultural experience and tasty too. Monday evening we had the quintessential Venetian experience of a Gondola ride seeing this city from the perspective of its waterways and enjoying the company of other couples enjoying the same experience. Tuesday we got an early start and immerse ourselves in the history and art of Venice by visiting the Palazzo Ducale , the residence of the head of state and the seat of government for more than a thousand years then heading to the Museo Correr, an amazing art collection housed in a former imperial palace on the opposite corner of St Mark’s Square. Aside from that we enjoyed this last stay in Italy by lingering here and there as we wended our way through this densely packed locale. We’d stop at the top of a bridge over one of the side canals to watch a gondola pass beneath our feet or pause at a gelattoria to taste yet a different flavor of this ubiquitous Italian frozen confection. Yes, we abandoned our usual eating patterns to create some scrumptious memories including tiramisu and caffè or perhaps cannoli and even a bit of amaro. We finished with a great spinach ravioli, salad, pizza, and tiramisu meal at Cafe al Paradiso We window shopped a lot being mindful of the limited capacity of our backpacks but are coming away with a couple of trinkets to evoke memories of our stay in this watery wonderland.
Oh my what a wonderful time!