Hi guys!
During this last week I have decided to publish a poll on twitter about Venice.
Browsing the Internet, I have noticed how many tourists were kind of disappointed in The Serenissima: many claimed that it’s too expensive, others said it’s way too surreal and it doesn’t allow you to experience “the Italian way of life”.
So when I looked at the results and the comments, it didn’t surprise me the fact that the majority of people said it’s a tourist trap.
Sensing the general impression, some time ago I published the first post of (I hope) a prolific series about Venice and how to look at it with different eyes. My desire is to encourage people to see the true experience behind the polished facade of Saint Mark’s square and the Rialto Bridge. This is also why this week I published two posts about Venice for the #100ItalyFacts challenge 😉
If you want, let’s discuss in the comments about your experience in Venice and your general impression about it. Let me also know if you are interested in reading the series I was mentioning before or if you are truly done with this city XD
Enjoy the usual review, have a nice week!
My Dear Italia 
Yummm. “Crostoli” went unrecognised by amore, but he recognised them immediately by “frappe”. Not surprisingly since he is from Roma. Funny thing is that in Croatian dialect along the northern coast they call them “kroštule” as well. Lasagna looks good too. As for Venice (I told you some of this already), it is an amazingly scenic place with plenty of photo ops, so much so that it feels like the set has been built around you, as in a dream, especially since I was there in February. We parked in a tall parking house where a friend with some Venice experience said it should be okay, since it was far from everything. They made us drive all the way up and park on the top floor and only when we returned down they told us that it was only possible to stay and pay for the entire day – 25 EUR even though we had only 2 hours or so to spend. We were too stunned to retrieve the car and drive away. We had amazing two hours though, but without a single bite or drink or even coffee, rushing along, getting lost, laughing and taking the boat back to where we left the car. All in all – an excellent time. What I can’t understand is how I managed to lost digital photos I took there. They are nowhere to be found, and it was a while ago. Which means I shall be back. 🙂 I was there once before, with my parents, but too young to follow the logistics. It was just a short stroll as well but I remember buying an orange Michelle Shocked cassette. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the exhaustive comment! ❤
Haha, I love how you always consult with Amore to check if he knows about “the facts” 😂
That thing about crostoli in Northern Croatia is really interesting! Venetians conquered that area, so I guess they left a trace in the language!
I had those lasagne for lunch 😋
Yeah, they probably sent you in Piazzale Roma or in Tronchetto (which is basically an artificial island where there are car parks) and parking in Venice is truly expensive as there’s no space for cars and they had to build and maintain those gigantic parking houses (25€ are way too much, though, I agree). Next time ➡ train (or split the cost of the parking with the passengers of the car!!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I consult with him on many things about Italy that I find online. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s very possible to have an entirely negative experience in Venice if you go at the height of the tourist season or during carnival, and stick to the main tourist thoroughfares between the hours 9-7. The best time I had in Venice is when I was 23 and I was camping in Verona. Me and friends took a train to Venice and decided to stay there all night without a hotel. We walked around as the city went to sleep and it was magical. We watched the sunset and then the sunrise and watched the city waking up. Then the tourists arrived and we left.
I don’t care how fake or touristy Venice is: it’s an audacious, incredible, bizarre, beautiful idea of a city that only Italians would be capable of creating. Spectacular palaces on tree-trunks in a lagoon: it’s like something out of a fantasy world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This comment made my day, thank you! I’m happy you were able to see Venice’s beauty behind the “facade”. Staying the night and walking around the city was a great thing to do!
Venice has started to become “fake” in the moment the mass tourism developed: inhabitants and local artisans started to flee to give space to shops that sell cheap Chinese trinkets.
Speaking about St.Mark’s square, it was built to impress, like…from the beginning! It’s not fake as someone asserts: the Serenissima Republic wanted to impress people who arrived in the city to do business with them and building a majestic piazza was their means to do it!
Yeah, building a city basically on a forest (as Venetians like to point out) was audacious and amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A good number of years ago, I made the mistake of staying in Venice 4 days during Easter week. I hadn’t realized those days fell on the holiday when I made my plans. Yes, the people were awful. I felt as though I was constantly swimming against the current until I got out of the center. The restaurants with big signs and menus in English, German and Japanese were downright offensive in their presentation – to be avoided like the plague. The pseudo-artlovers in the line running blocks around the Peggy Guggenheim museum was not one I joined. However, the city itself was beautiful, and I found plenty of opportunities to get away from the crowds away from the center and on the outlying islands. I imagine it’s worse now, but as you say, if you pick and choose your dates and times, it’s an incredible place to visit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your comment!
You know, even when you go during days when there are things like Regata Storica or Carnival and the centre is packed, there are calli (alleys) and other areas that are literally empty.
People tend to be awful, yes. There are tourists that act in a shameful way and the few inhabitants are exhausted as they can’t move freely and they have to witness to scenes which are unbelievable (tourists bathing in the lagoon, roaming around naked etc.) As a consequence some of them can act in a rude way.
Some restaurants and bars for tourists are a fraud, I agree. The secret is to go look for places where the locals go.
Thanks for sharing your pov! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person