Day 14 (17 May 2025)
Today, we
travelled by train from Bologna to Venice. When the train neared Venezia Santa Lucia station, we knew we were coming to a completely different city. Water, water everywhere.
Right outside the train station is the Grand Canal.
We needed to take a bus to our hotel, but not just any bus - the vaporetto (water bus)! It works exactly like a bus, with bus stops, bus numbers and
fixed routes, except it's on water. You buy a ticket which gives you 75mins of travel for a fixed fare of E9.50 (not cheap!) Then you go to the bus stop that has the bus number you want, and wait there for the vaporetto to arrive.

People get off, people get on. Just like a bus!
Inside the vaporetto, you can see the route and the stops. An electronic board shows the next stop (similar to our MRT).
So much to see!

Our hotel is very centrally located, close to Rialto Bridge. We alighted at Rialto stop and walked a short distance to our hotel
Hotel Gorizia. It's a very large room with quaint furnishings - drapes and chandeliers. I found the cleanliness to be questionable though, I couldn't stop sneezing in the room 🤧
We took a stroll to Rialto Bridge, the main bridge spanning the Grand Canal. Before we came to Venice, we weren't sure how we would feel
about it. Would the city smell like a giant longkang (drain)? Would
we be wading through floods? But the minute we reached here, we were charmed. It's so pretty 😍
Venice is hands down one of the prettiest and liveliest cities I've ever seen. All the transport happens along the canals - vaporettoes, water taxis
(expensive), private boats and of course the gondolas.
Land vehicles are not allowed in the main city of Venice, not even bicycles. That's such a nice change from having to share narrow roads with cars, scooters and bikes! We walked around to take in all the sights. Venice is mad crowded but even the crowds here feel different. They're younger...and louder.
We went for a spot of lunch - squid ink pasta and something else I've forgotten.
We also decided to sample cannolis and have coffee at the bar like a local.
The Italians do love their sweets!
More strolling. We explored a labyrinth of narrow
alleyways, and each time we turned a corner, we'd be hit by a charming
little scene right out of a postcard. 😍 We also found Venice to be very clean, like Rome. Ironically, even though Venice is a series of canals, there's no smell of sewage here at all, unlike in Florence!
This is such a romantic city, no wonder
couples like to come here. I personally find the gondola ride is a little
cheesy but I can see why people do it. Though we've also seen tourists, especially from a certain country, pack 5 people into one gondola, presumably to get their money's worth 😆
Aside, Andre and I have noticed that the Italians are a ridiculously good-looking people. Often, an ordinary person walking down the street can make us turn our heads. Pizza seller. Waiter. Ticket seller. Bus driver. Both male and female. We once saw a female garbage collector clearing bins who wouldn't look out of place on a Hollywood set. They truly are genetically blessed (Andre thinks it's so unfair!)

I did a quick sketch on site
along the Grand Canal. It wasn't the best view as there isn't really any
place you can sit to draw, unless you eat at one of the hotels by the Canal. I added watercolour back at the hotel.
For dinner, we went to a nearby restaurant recommended by our hotel. I had the best pasta on this trip at dinner - a
spider crab tagliatelle while Andre had the octopus. Since they're near the sea, Venice specialises in seafood and their cooking style is heavily influenced by Mediterranean cuisine. This is a nice
change from the land-based meals we've been having. I'm already thinking I'll enjoy the meals in Venice more than in the other parts of Italy.
After
dinner, we walked back to Rialto Bridge. In May, the sun sets only at 8.30pm, and the scene that greeted us
at dusk was simply breathtaking. With the setting sun, lights, reflections and ripples in the water, it's pure poetry. Ah Venezia, you have just supplanted Rome as my favourite city in Italy. 💙