Hostel
We arrived in Venice at night. From the train station we needed to take a water taxi to our hostel, which was located in the city of Venice (not the main land). It was difficult to figure out what ticket we needed for the water taxi and even more difficult to squeeze onto the crowded boat. We eventually arrived at our stop; A dim-lit platform with narrow streets branching off.
We followed our slightly misleading directions to the hostel. When we arrived at the address, all we found was cracked-open door leading to a dark, empty room. We peered through into the large space. This can't be our hostel, we thought. I wondered if, somehow, the hostel had closed down and we made a payment to scammer and had nowhere to sleep that night. We double checked the address and checked again. No, this was right.
Nico and I eventually worked up the nerve to enter the ajar door. We ventured toward a staircase on the opposite wall, which, to our delight, was flooded with light when a sensor picked up our motion ascending to the next floor. Here in the stairwell we found the first clue that we were on the right path: a small sign with an arrow reading, "Venice Academy." At the top of the stairs was a door that looked like it could have been an entrance to an apartment (and it probably used to be) except another sign on the door let us know that we had reached our destination.
We entered the front door, which opened up into a living room. There was a reception desk set up in the corner and cozy couches spread around the room. We learned that we had to pay for our linens and make our own bed. The room we slept in was just a bedroom with multiple cast-iron beds. There were a couple of cabinets but nothing to lock up our stuff. It wasn't the most comfortable hostel but also not the worst. It didn't help, though, that one of our roommates was a snorer.
This was the empty foyer we first entered, except the light was off and it was 10x creepier
The room basically looked like this (photos taken from The Academy Hostel Venice)
Activities
Most of our activities consisted of walking around and site-seeing. Venice is such a unique city with a picturesque scene around every corner. We went to Piazza San Marco, which was conveniently located close to our hostel. We walked through the maze of streets so many times that we eventually could find our way around our little neighborhood. We took a walk to the Rialto Bridge, which I remember being a cool site to see, except this time it was mostly covered in scafolding for renovations.
Canal Grande
Bridges everywhere
Nico
The one obligatory activity to do in Venice is to take a gondola ride. We found a gondola driver that wanted to charge us 80€ for a 40 min ride. When we decided to try somewhere else, the driver told us that the rate is set by the city of Venice and will be the same everywhere you go. We told him we'd think about it and he counter- offered with 60€. This was slightly more in our price range, so we took the offer.
It was a beautiful ride through the canals. Our gondola would ride so close to the city walls or another boat but never touched. Our driver maneuvered us around tight corners and under narrow bridges. Nico and I admired the scenery. I thought it was interesting to see the doorways that now existed halfway in the canal because of the rising water level.
Important Sites in Venice:
The Bridge of Sighs (connecting the prison with Doge's Palace, named for the prisoners who would sigh as they caught their last glimpse at beautiful Venice before being locked away)
Piazza San Marco
The Rialto Bridge (or any of the 4 other bridges crossing the canal, Rialto was the first)
St Mark's Clocktower
Bridge of Sighs from the backside
Food
Dining in Venice, like many other popular tourist destinations, was more on the expensive side. The first night in Venice, we got pizza from a restaurant close to our hostel because it was one of the only places still open. I'm sure the food was good but even more memorable was the couple at the table next to us who got engaged that evening.
The best meal we had in Venice (and one of the best of the whole trip) was from Dal Moro's - Fresh Pasta To Go. We found out about the place from TripAdvisor, a favorite travel tool of mine. You get to pick out your type of fresh pasta, the sauce, any toppings and they put it all together for you in a handy to-go box. It was so delicious, I can't even write about it now without getting hungry.
Mine was called Mama Rosa
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