Day 8.5: Arriving in Venice, Doge’s Palace
I’m back! Okay so I arrived in the Venice Santa Lucia train station around 3pm and as soon as I exited the station, it was clear Venice was unlike anywhere I’d ever been. It is indeed a real-life water world. You’re left in front of a big ole canal with a bunch of ferry stops on the water’s edge. There’s also a large booth with attendants selling the ferry “metro cards” you’ll need in order to board the boats. I bought a 3-day unlimited pass for around 40 euros and it was worth it for the amount of trips I ended up taking. You could also buy tickets to various Venetian attractions at the booths so I caved and bought a museum pass. Can’t say that was worth it. The attendant was very helpful and told me which ferry to get on.
The ferry ride to my hotel took around 25 minutes with all the stops but it felt longer because it was packed to the brim and as it turns out, I hate boats. Great way to find out that they make me slightly queasy 😅. When I arrived at my stop, I started to make my way to the hotel and what an adventure. The hotel gave super detailed directions which was great. But nothing prepares you for the little nooks and crannies and dark alleyways that make up Venice. It felt like I was in a movie or something. Venice has tiny canals running through it with little bridges to go across. You may happen upon a gondala floating by as you cross. It really is a sight to see.
I finally arrived at my hotel which was located in a little plaza right next to a restaurant and near to a theater which I’m guessing it was named after. The hotel is called Hotel la Fenice et des Artistes and I can’t recommend it enough. I had been warned that a lot of Italian hotels didn’t have AC or elevators but all of the hotels I stayed at had both. And thank God for that because it was HOT. This hotel was also really cute and centrally located. There was also breakfast but I didn’t take advantage of it.
I changed quickly at the hotel and set out to Doge’s Palace, one of the museums included in my museum pass. It’s weird because things look kind of far on the map but they’re pretty easy to walk to in Venice. You just need to realize that you will walk into dead ends and through tight passages. Once you get comfortable with that, it’s kind of delightful. I got to San Marco Piazza, which is where most of the large museums are located and went to the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale). The Doge’s Palace was the Venetian seat of power back in the days of the Italian city states. So once you enter, you get a tour of where various proceedings took place and the history of the building. It’s a beautiful building with lots of art and breathtaking architecture. When I went, they were also featuring an art installation of a German artist but I’m guessing that changes over time. Definitely worth a visit.
From there I checked out more of the area around San Marco Piazza and considered getting a gondola ride. Turns out they cost 80 euro so that was a no go. I also walked around looking in some of the local shops. Venice is known for glass blown goods so I decided to get my mom some glass jewelry. I found something I thought she would like and took a picture to confirm with her. Finally, I ended up at this fabulous department store and did a little window shopping. For more on that you can check out my shopping in Italy video. While there I asked one of the saleswomen for a recommendation for a restaurant and she and a colleague gave me a list. They were so nice in that store! I had dinner at a place called La Porta d’Acqua and that ended up being one of my favorite meals in Italy. The prosecco was so good! I was too last minute to get one, but I would also recommend making a reservation so you can get a table right on the water. After dinner, I headed back to the hotel for the night.
Day 9: Glass Museum, Campo Santa Margherita
I woke up on day 9 determined to see some fancy Venetian glass. There is an entire island in Venice called Murano that is famed for its glass making. I bought a ticket to some glass blowing place online for 5 euro. Do not do this! I didn’t even end up going to this place. Just wait till you get to the island. I walked back to San Marco to catch another ferry (ugh) to Murano Island. The ride was about 30 longggg minutes. I can admit that it’s a little cool how there’s little “street” markers along the way to keep the ferries in their lanes though.
Once you get to the island, there are no shortage of glassmakers inviting you into their shops to see their works. I followed the crowd to one and got to see a craftsman meld glass into a vase and a horse for free. Then of course they lead you through a gift shop, hoping you will spend a little coin there. I didn’t see any good jewelry there though so I left. I walked around a bit and popped into a few more glass shops. Finally I ended up at the actual Glass Museum which cost 10 euros to enter. It was NOT included in my museum pass by the way. While the museum has some cool exhibits and some historical pieces, I can’t say it’s worth the money or even the trip. But if you’re looking for something to do and want to head off the beaten path, this is a cute way to spend 45 minutes.
After the museum, I located the closest restaurant with a fan and had some lunch. Nothing to rave about the food but it was edible and I was hungry. It was also super close to the ferry stop. After lunch, I took an even longer ferry back to the main island. Once I was back, I intended to go to another museum but it was getting late, the line to enter was long and most importantly I spotted the Fendi store. So I decided to do a little shopping.
After shopping, I went back to the hotel to change and went to check out a part of Venice that was recommended to me called Campo Santa Margherita. My guidebook also recommended a restaurant out there. Unfortunately, this involved catching another damn boat. At least I was getting my money’s worth out of that ferry metro card. As a solo traveler, this area wasn’t all that interesting. Probably it would have been cool in a group. This seems like a place that native Venetians go to hang out and there were little bars and restaurants around. But I can’t say it was great for people watching, which is a solo traveler’s bread and butter as far as I’m concerned. I had my dinner (which I can’t recommend so I won’t mention the place), walked around a bit and then headed home. Glad I got to see something different but it wasn’t anything special.
Turns out that 2 and a half days is NOT enough time for Venice. I wished I had time to visit Burano Island which is famous for lacemaking and some of the other museums in Venice. I also just wanted more time to get lost walking around the city. I’m so glad I was able to visit though and will definitely be back. I checked out of my hotel and caught yet another ferry back to the train station. I left myself a little time to have lunch at the station and had a delicious bottled Bellini and a slice of pizza. 10/10 would recommend!
Day 10: Check-out and heading to Milan
My last train ride of the trip to Milan was my longest and it wasn’t actually on an Italian train though I booked on the Trenitalia website. It was a Eurocity train with its last stop in Zurich. That train was kind of annoying because it had the seats facing one another so you were sitting across from some stranger looking them in the eye. There was also a slight delay on that train ride but I made decent time.
I arrived in Milan and caught the subway to the stop nearest my hotel which was the Duomo Cathedral. I walked from the Cathedral to the Hotel Milano Castellano. I figured I’d splurge for the hotel on my last night in Italy. This hotel was cool and modern looking. They also give you a free cocktail every night. I’m not sure it’s worth the price but I heard Milan was expensive so I guess that’s par for the course. I got changed and headed out to do a little shopping. I was determined to see Prada before I left. You can check out my video for more but I didn’t find anything too amazing shopping-wise. By then, I was famished so I set out for dinner.
Surprisingly, one of the recommended places to eat in my guidebook was the rooftop of the Italian department store Rinascente. It was close to my hotel, so I checked it out. Not only did the rooftop have multiple restaurants, there was also a market selling food products and wine. I bought a risotto mix for myself and some wine and garlic infused olive oil as gifts. I would definitely recommend checking this place out. The rooftop terrace was closed for repair when I went but the restaurants were open. They really knew how to treat people up there too. I ordered the risotto because I’d heard risotto was a Milanese specialty. The restaurant started me off with a free glass of wine and an appetizer. I ate my risotto, which was fabulous by the way, and then they gave me a free dessert. I thought I was getting some kind of special treatment at first but they did that for everyone. Do yourself a favor and check it out. After dinner, I headed back to my hotel to pack and get ready for my flight the next day. I also bought a train ticket to the airport.
Day 11: Heading home
Of course when I woke up the next morning, I had an email saying my flight was delayed but it was only for a few hours. I went back to sleep for a bit and then got up and checked out of the hotel. I walked back to the subway station to catch the airport train which is called the Malpensa Express. A few notes on the Malpensa Express, you buy the ticket for a specified time and you get a 3 hour window in which to travel. If your plane gets rescheduled for outside of this window, the site says you just have to bring proof of the change. The trains seem to run hourly. The tickets are 13 euro and there is no assigned seating. It takes about an hour to get to the airport so plan accordingly. Also, the ticket doesn’t tell you a platform so I had to check with the ticket desk to confirm but they seem to come into platform 1A or 1B if I remember correctly. Be sure to confirm ahead of time. It’s definitely a full train so make sure to get there early to grab a seat.
The train ride was okay and I arrived at the airport with time to spare. The best part about Milan’s airport is probably the shopping. I can’t say the food options were that great despite getting a free lunch due to the flight delay. This time, I nicely declined to pay to check my luggage reminding them that I was supposed to get a free bag due to my credit card. The agent checked with a colleague and confirmed that I was correct. (Thank goodness!)
A few hours of window shopping, snacking and further flight delays due to the airline having to schlep us to the plane on the tarmac later, I finally was heading home. I’m glad that I stopped in Milan in order to cross it off my list but it wasn’t anything special. It was like a less interesting Rome. And I’m still not sure I liked Rome. All in all, it was a fabulous trip. Hopefully these posts are helpful if you’re thinking of heading to Italy. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments. Thanks for reading!