After a busy month of May, we contemplated taking a few days away. A quick browse on the Easyjet website with Italy in mind showed Venice as the cheapest destination followed by Rome. After looking up the weather specifics and reviews, the general consensus was that June would be the best time to visit Venice, to avoid crowds as well as the heat and stench from the canals.
However, this trip turned out to be our very first trip with let-downs despite how popular and highly-rated the destination is. We realised we probably have been very fortunate to have zero complaints of all our trips thus far. Venice was disappointing for a few reasons (personal to our experience I must emphasise, as many of our friends and acquaintances loved Venice):
1. The Weather:
It turned out to be scorching hot. On one of the days, it hit 35 degrees. It felt hotter than Malaysia.
2. Our Sour Boarding Process:
Our plane was delayed on the UK side for 3 hours total with the entire passenger clan heeding botched instructions multiple times which resulted in many fruitless sprints to empty lounges just to be told off. At one departure gate, the worker, when asked about the delay and more information even had the nerve to yell at all of us sarcastically, 'If you want to go to Marseille, stay here then!!' Rude! When we finally boarded, we ended up being stranded on the runway for another 40 minutes.
3. The Harrowing Arrival Process:
Due to the delay, we arrived in Venice at 11.40pm. The airport was silent and the ticket desk was shutting down. We had to change all our plans as now we only could take night transportation which comes way less frequent. The bus to Venice was due at 12.10am. We had to wait outside in the heat, surrounded by smokers everywhere waiting for the bus too. It felt like Pudu Raya. I walked a good distance away and stood in the carpark to wait. A full half hour after an exhausting day was testing. After the bus finally came, we boarded it along with a group of rowdy boys. After a 20 minute ride, we arrived at a port in Venice. We needed to take a night vaporetto (water bus) to Lido Island where we were staying. The vaporetto took another 10 minutes to arrive. The journey to Lido which would normally have taken 20 minutes ended up taking an hour because there is only one night vaporetto line which has to stop at every single port. Around 1.45am we arrived in Lido finally and we got the bus to the Villa. We asked the driver to let us know when to get down for the Villa but he stupidly told us to get down one stop too early. There was no one around and it was eeriely quiet. We could hear our footsteps and the wheels of our luggage so loudly. It was also so dark. We walked for 10 minutes and finally found the Villa. We knocked on the door and called the office but no one picked up. We had informed the owner that we would be delayed. Luckily there was a number on the door. We called it and Stella picked up. She came over 10 minutes later in her PJs, bless her! She had left the door unlocked with a paper stuck to it saying, 'Do not lock' and left the keys inside for us. However, some numbnut lodger closed the door anyway foiling her preparation for us. Everything went wrong. At long last, we arrived safely. I cannot describe how I felt when I got into the shower at 2.15am and touched the bed.
4. Missing Vegetables:
I realise a lot of Italian food is brown and carb-heavy. This may be a generalisation but I mean it only humbly through the eyes of the tourist, not as an authority. The best I could find was a sprinkle of spinach or artichokes here and there. We dined next to many locals and I looked at their table. Scarcely anything green. Mostly meats, cheese, rice and carbs. Arancinis, pizzas, thick and creamy pastas, cannolis etc all so yummy but by the final few days I was buying all the fruit and lettuce I could find. It's amazing that Italians are not overly heavy as a population. They
must be very active.
5. Misleading Reviews:
People say that there are plenty of cafes to rest at if the walking gets tedious. What they don't say is that the cafes are tiny and mostly overcrowded with many smokers outside. Also, everytime you want to rest, you would have to buy something, no? There are also zero benches in sight and no public seating whatsoever. I was lucky enough to find the stairs of a church and a few non-pigeon-crap-stained spots for us to eat our lunch at. Otherwise it's 'cangkung' at the 'lorongs' to eat anything you 'dapau' lah!
6. Seasickness (even for 20 minutes):
The water rides were very choppy due to the amount of tourists on gondolas, boats, water-taxis all roughing up the canal waters. It wasn't until the final days that we discovered the least dizzying routes to take.
After this list of disappointments, I must now state the positives of this trip (mostly food-related though!):
1. Nandos:
The meal we had at Gatwick Airport before the flight was the best Nandos meal we have ever had eventhough they were oversusbscribed at that moment. The food was so fresh and tasty.
2. My Cooking:
I am thankful that I made my customary fried rice with leftovers in our fridge for the trip. I do this every trip. I also bake a cake if I can with more leftovers. These served us so well. Eating this at 2am after a harrowing arrival was so comforting.
3. Stella:
She deserves five stars for saving us upon arrival. Her staff was also kind enough to serve us breakfast past the time on the first day. The breakfast everyday was phenomenal. I thoroughly enjoyed the selection. Fresh omelettes, hard-boiled eggs, juices, cereals, milk, yogurts, fresh fruits, fresh rolls, croissants, hams & cheeses, homemade cake and the best chocolate crepes cooked to order! The Villa was very pleasant and thank God for air-conditioning! Just sucked that we had 4 flights of stairs to climb everyday. The villa also provided free bicycles to borrow. Hubby used it once to get dinner. No regrets staying on the Lido as it was worlds apart in terms of cleanliness and rowdiness from Venice Island itself.
4. More Food:
The pizzas, pastas, gelato (although stay away from gelato stands near the popular square which are overpriced and watered down) and Italian baked goods we sampled while in Venice were really delicious. I was addicted to every biscuit I tried there.
The breakfast area
This uncle saw the photo being taken and waved enthusiastically. :)
St Mark's Basillica, Gelato and Venetian Masks
Bridge of Sighs on the right.
Bridge of Sighs from the other side. Love how the gondola men all look like they are striking a pose. A gondola ride is very pricy I must say on top of the choppy waters you have to endure before entering the small canals between buildings which are also not immune to smaller speedboats zooming past.
View from the canal
Gondolas galore
St Mark's Square/ Piazza San Marco
Giant pizza for lunch and then we headed back to the Villa.
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