Thursday, May 15, 2014

Venice The Magical City

Venice is that place you must visit in your lifetime. Once you set foot in Venice you will think that you're living in a fairy tale. Of course, that feeling will go quickly when you see all of the tourist traps there. But still it's totally worth the visit.

It's easy to get to Venice from Rome by train from Termini station. Second class seats cost 80 Euros per ticket and the trip takes around 4 hours. If you have any questions you can visit the tourism office in the train station. They were very helpful and the service was free.

You can get a free map of the city from the front office in your hotel.

We went in winter. It was cold and rainy, and it made it more beautiful. It was crowded, just the right amount of crowd. We stayed at Locanda Art Deco in Accademia area. The room was okay. The bathroom was very small, breakfast was not much and not special. However, I really liked the staff. Not all of them could speak English, but they were helpful.

There are countless numbers of souvenir shops there, some start with 4 Euros for a mask and other shops sell a mask for 1000 Euros.


There are a lot of tourist attractions in Venice. A gondola ride is the most famous and the most amazing. In Egypt we have an old proverb, “You can't buy happiness with money”. This proverb is totally wrong in this case. With the money you pay for the gondola ride it will bring you happiness and joy for about 35-40 minutes. If you are traveling with a group you could ride the gondola for 25 Euros each for 6 seats. If you're traveling with your beloved one take a private ride 80-85 Euros for the boat.


Free places to go:
There are some places you can go for free. The music museum is free, and there are some art exhibits with free admission. 

You can go to a church to enjoy the art and rest your legs for a bit.

Don't forget you can walk every where for free. A walk in the back alleys and tiny streets will take your mind away from everything. You'll fall in love with the tiny alleys.


Where to eat:
Osteria al Mascaron restaurant is the place to eat. Just by walking in front of it you'll smell a mouthwatering smell that will make you hungry. The staff were nice and spoke English. The food was absolutely delicious. They serve a variety of seafood dishes. My favorite thing was the artwork hanging on the walls. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. Working hours from 12:00-15:00 and 19:00-23:00. I highly recommend the cuttlefish spaghetti in black ink dish. It's a heavenly taste.

                                                            Spaghetti in black ink


                                                                 Swordfish steak 

Le Cafe restaurant and cafe at campo Santo Stefano near Accademia. They serve pizza, sandwiches, pasta, dessert and gelato. I loved their dessert, which start at a reasonable price.

Many small cafes serve sandwiches starting at a couple of Euros. You can find those cafes away from the big squares. If you want to eat at the S. Marko area make sure you check the prices on the menu outside of each cafe and restaurant. Dinner at some places there will cost a week's budget if you're traveling on budget.

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