Zack and Ju in VENEZIA

Day 7: 25 Oct (Thursday)
It was a rushed morning in Florence. We checked out.. rushed to San Lorenzo Market (i managed to coax zack into waking up a tad earlier :P) to get my mohair neck scarf. By the time we were done, we only had time to grab some bfast at macs (yes again) then rushed to the train station.

Train was bound to leave at 10.40am.
We arrived Venezia at 1.30pm!


Venice is a city built on small islands in the Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. Small canals are her roads, no car or any automobile vehicles. These can only be parked at Piazzale Roma. The only form of transportation are the gondolas, vaporetto (water buses) and of course.. by foot.

At a glace, Venice seems like a complicated labyrith with its small canals, numerous bridges. But after awhile, you'll get a hang of how things work. Its incredibly small and you can go anywhere on foot.

Venezia Santa Lucia Train Station

To get to our hotel from Venetia S Lucia train station, we took waterbus route 1 to Sant' Angelo station.




Water Taxi


Police Boat

One of the feedback was that though the hotel was near the water station, its pretty difficult to locate. But fortunately, we managed to find it pretty quick. Poor zack had to lug the 2 luggages over the many bridges. But he carried it like it weighed nothing.. i know after a fact that it was mighty heavy.. my hero... *muaks*

HOTEL SAN GIORGIO (San Marco)

The hotel was lovely and looked really new. But we werent expecting much for our room after Hotel Martelli in Florence. We were shocked when we opened the door to our room... CHANDELIER! Wow and wow...........




from our window..



Rest for abit before hitting the streets!

PIAZZA SAN MARCO



€1 per bag of corn




the pigeons sure know how to pose..










zack's new best friends


my new friend and i




i love this shot


this one too!


the Grand Canal




one of Venice's many campos (squares)

RIALTO BRIDGE



Grand Canal (from the Rialto Bridge)

RIALTO MARKET








a bouquet of chilli and garlic
this shot is for my bro-in-law, Andrew ;P


venetian masks.... so pwetty!

Dinner: Al Vaporetto Ristorante.. food was okay, not fantastic though. I had squid ink risotto which was pretty good. Zack didnt really enjoy his food. I'm not quite as picky.. haha. My only complaint was that portion was too small.

On our way back to our hotel, we stopped by a supermarket to get water. We had to be careful with our selection cos there was also fizzy water (gas) which we didnt like. As with every country i go to, i searched out dog food.. haha. Bought a pack of dog food for my babies :D So far, Pappe had enjoyed food from Australia (Perth/Mel), Hong Kong, now Venice. How lucky she is!

Day 8: 26 October (Saturday)
We woke up to the sound of sirens.. and wondered what could they be. It's actually the alarm for Alta Quata (high water)! Believe you me.. i was actually excited!


platforms (walkways) were assembled for people to walk on. Oh yes, the streets actually flood! And it wasn't even raining heavily.. just a drizzle to light rain. We saw for ourselves how close Venice really is to sinking..


St Mark's Square..

We tried crossing the square but had to run all the way back cos the water was closing in on us.. fast! hahahhaha..


within minutes... i kid you not.

CAFE FLORIAN

where the likes of Lord Byron used to dine!

What do we do when it rains?
We visit Palaces!

PALAZZO DUCALE (Doge's Palace)



Strictly no photography allowed. This is my last shot.. really...


The prison!

Tried searching for the Bridge of Sighs..... we were so certain we saw the direction board for it in the Doge's Palace...

The Council Room was breathtaking.. Massive and the sheer opulance. We just sat along the benches and drank it all up. Sadly no photography was allowed.

After Doge's Palace, we wanted to move on the Basilica San Marco but the queue was too long. So zack suggested walking to PIAZZALE ROMA to buy the bustickets for our transport to Treviso Airport the next day. Good idea so we could familiarise ourselves with the place. Imagine lugging our luggages all over the place looking for our bus..

The thickest pizza we've ever laid eyes on.....



1.5" thick! €3.90 each. i had cheese.... piping hot from the oven. It was soooooo good... gooey mozeralla cheese.

PIAZZALE ROMA
Where all the buses/cars are docked. 'Gateway' to the mainland - Mestre. When we got there, zack thought we were already at Mestre.

Originally, we were supposed to stay at Mestre. The hotel in our package offers Hotel Delfino.. but when i checked it up, i had a rude shock at its location. No way are we staying on the mainland.. it defeats the purpose. So i requested for a hotel right smack on Venice Island, at San Marco neighbourhood where it's near all the sites. We had to top up $90 per room per night. It was worth it! Imagine having to take the ferry out to Mestre every night.. then back there in the morning..

So... Zack was pleased i changed hotels when he realised how far out Mestre was (JB to Spore). Of crse.. Ju only arranged the best! *smirk* :P I earned a hug and a big kiss! hehe.

After getting our tickets.. we visited the DORSUDURO neighbourhood :)

you'll notice that it is quieter with lesser crowds as compared with San Marco (historical neighbourhood)






vegetable stall on boat

artwork of young italian youths... the aspiring Leonardo Da Vincis

Teabreak: Sandwiches and cappucino... while the rain pitter pattering outside.. shioks!

a labrador in a cafe!

Chanced upon GALLERIE DELL'ACCADEMIA! We almost walked past it but zack spotted it! Again, no photography allowed. Bummer.

The artifacts were a tad boring but i enjoyed the Renaissance and Rococo paintings!

a water-bus landing station (Accademia)

On PONTE DELL'ACCADEMIA - one of the 3 bridges in Venice to span the Grand Canal.

who cares if it rains!


between walls.....




a quieter street

Head back to our hotel for a rest and checked out the internet for directions to this restaurant we wanna go.

For our last night in Venice.. we decided on an extravagant seafood dinner!

In search for Madonna!

"Trattoria Alla Madonna is one of the best-known restaurants in Venice. It's in the old-fashioned style, large high-ceilinged rooms, dozens of white-coated waiters and impressive displays of seafood, antipasti and puddings in vast cases."

zack had his mussels pasta... AWESOME!


this is seriously THE BEST fish soup i've ever had....
we both had starters, second course, wine, beer and dessert..
Total damage for the meal: €72

With our stomach filled with sumptuous (albeit expensive) food, we took a stroll down to St Mark's Square and the Grand Canal....

it was like a fairytale came true.....

ST MARK'S SQUARE at night

it was almost deserted.. what are the odds!






Venice takes on a different form at night.

It was incredibly romantic. You'll never know the true meaning of 'romance' til you stroll along the river bank of Venice at night. With the gondolas gently swaying.. the wind teasing your cheeks.. the old street lamps dimly lighting the old streets.. *sigh* You feel like you're in a fairytale...



How do i describe that immense emotion of that poetic moment? i cant.......


we seal it with a kiss.......

i've always been a firm believer that it's not the place but the person you are with.. that makes the difference. And there's only one person in the world i wanna share this special place with.. and that's you, my darling zack.

Our Bridge of Sighs...

on this bridge overlooking the Grand Canal (Isola di San Giorgio). The view.. spectacular. (**25 Nov: this bridge is called Ponte della Paglia)

Ju: This must be the Bridge of Sighs! It's so romantic! Come darling, we have to kiss here!

We turned around and saw this covered link/bridge connecting the Doge's Palace to the Prison. Hey, we were there this morning! But that cant be the bridge of sighs cos the Bridge of Sighs is supposed to be romantic! right? Bcos the view must be so romantic that everyone who walked on it sighs...

I went back to the hotel and read up on the travel guide. Turned out.. THAT bridge/link connecting the palace to the prison was the Bridge of Sighs!! Know why? Cos the prisoners after getting their sentence on their way to the prison to be executed will walk thru that bridge and sigh. WHAT THE HECK?! Thats NOT romantic one bit!

well, the joke's on me.. hahhahaha! But we did take a nice kissing shot *wink*

DAY 9: 27 October (Saturday)






ST MARK'S BASILICA







honestly... we were bored....



We love pigeons more!



pecked on the ear! ahahahahhaha!



SHOPPING AT VENICE
There were shops everywhere! Every street you turned into.. there were things to buy! Murano glass necklaces (i bought 1 for Godma and 1 for myself!), cheaper ones for sourvenirs and... hmm... hey, i didnt get anything else! *pout* Zack found a footlocker and bought another Nike - Air Max.. €130! That's even more expensive than my ECCO boots! But he claimed it was something he couldnt find in Singapore.. blah blah blah... HAIYO!

We saw a PRADA boutique.. wow, a wallet was only €160! Is that cheaper than Singapore's? Sadly the image of Prada has been tarnished for me by the chao ah lians in school.. so we didnt get anything there.


Zack's Nike - Air Max

We bid farewell to our lovely host at San Giorgio hotel and made our way to Piazzale ROMA to catch the bus to TREVISO Airport. This time, we took the vaporetto. Flight to Paris departs at 8.20pm.


Ambulance boat!


Venice at dusk...

Adieu Venezia..... we'll be back...