Venice – Italian Adventure (2024)

The first weekend in February we went to Venice for an overnighttrip to experience Carnevale. This was one trip that I won’t ever forget… for many reasons!

We started by parking at the airport and taking the bus into town. We were thinking that this would help us to save some money instead of parking at Tronchetto. When all was said and done, I would not recommend this parking option, especially with a baby. It took us quite some time to get to our hotel because of the distance, but also because of the weather! The forecast called for rain and wind on Saturday when we arrived, and the forecast didn’t disappoint! It was raining really hard and the winds were so strong that the rain was coming in sideways so an umbrella was completely useless!

When the bus arrived in Piazza Roma, we proceeded to walk over the main bridge (which by the way is the WORST bridge ever designed… in a huge tourist city, they failed to leave a handicap ramp and only created stairs), and headed tothe train station to catch our waterbus to the hotel. On the way, we became completely soaked, and the wind broke our umbrella.Little Man was crying because he was hungry and getting wet. Poor guy! After feeding and changing him in acafewe finally caught the water bus and made our way to the hotel. On the way to the hotel we had to stand outside under and overhang because inside was full. When we realized we were headed out to open water and there were huge waves coming, I tried to get Josh (who was holding a sleeping Vincent) to go inside and sit down. Of course he refused until waves were coming over the side of the boat and getting us wet! I was worried that the bus wasn’t going to make it to the hotel stop! It felt like we were in one of those episodes from Deadliest Catch.That was the worst ride ever…

Well… we finally arrived at our stop and started working our way to the hotel, Boscolo. Thankfully it was only two blocks away from the bus stopand Josh knew exactly where to go. The wind was so strong that it felt like it was going to push me right into a wall!! When we got to the hotel we were completely soaked, our suitcase was wet (and some things inside of it), Little Man’s stroller and seat were wet, and his travel bassinet was wet too. At that point I was in the bathroom drying things with the hairdryer for a while! We decided not to go anywhere that night for dinner and just eat at the hotel restaurant. It was anexcellent decision! The hotel was amazing and the food was incredible!It was definitely the nicest hotel I’ve stayed at in Venice, but unfortunately it’s not in the most convenient location.

Thankfully, the sun was shining in the morningand the temperature was a pleasant 45 degrees F (more or less). We decided to head over toMurano for a glass factory tour and saw a quick demonstration of how they make a vase and a horse. The factory we visitedmakes the Murano glass chandeliers and wespenta lot oftime looking through their showroom. It was very impressive! Be careful if you ever visit… you will be tempted to buy something amazing! Vincent was perfect the whole time, mainly because there were so many shiny and colorful glass showpieces to look at. He was completely overwhelmed with all of the eye candy.

After Murano, we headed to Piazza San Marco for the Carnevale festivities. All of the costumes were incredible, and there were so many people it was hard to walk anywhere, especially with a stroller. It was slow going, but everyone dressed in costumes made it a fun walk. The square was packed with people taking pictures ofthose dressed incostume. It made me think of a renaissance festival, only with more style and glamour. After all, this was the original carnival!

Early in the afternoon after we ate lunch, around 3pm, we decided that it was time to head home. We started working our way from Piazza San Marco to the hotel to get our bags, then back to Piazza Roma to catch the bus to the airport. Between stopping for Little Man to eat, and navigating the crowds… we finally made it back to the car three hours later. Again… I don’t recommend parking at the airport when you go to Venice by car! It was about 9:30 PM when we finally arrived at our house in Milan. Thankfully we weren’t in any hurry to get home because we had to stop twice for Little Man to eat or be changed. Looking back on it, I’m really glad we went to Venice for Carnevale and I won’t forget this trip anytime soon! It’s one thing I can check off of my bucket list 🙂 Although, therewere so many people I’m not sure I would go back unlessI had tickets to one of the fabulous parties! Which by the way… cost anywhere from 300-1,000 euros per personto attend!!

It’s hard to believe that Vincent will be four weeks old on Tuesday! The last two weeks just flew by and are a little of a blur… My mom and her husband Jim arrived from MN and stayed with us during that time and we had a lot of firsts during their stay.

Of course, it was the first time that Vincent met his grandma and grandpa! We also had his two week appointment and found out that he not only gained back his birth weight, but he also put on another 200 grams! He weighed 3.66 kg at that appointment and had gained almost a pound since his one week appointment. The boy eats like a champ! We also had our first metro ride, his first road trip to the Piedmont regionand first over night in Venice. He also met his “aunt and uncle” Sissel and Ragnar, and saw downtown Milan for the first time. Man, we packed in a lot in two weeks!

Let me say to all new moms, take it easy! I’ve been over doing it the past week and my body is not happy with me. Going to Venice was great, but it was way too much walking for 3 weeks post partum and I’m looking forward to resting in the next week. Not to mention the stress that comes with traveling with a new born and the unexpected issues…. Because he wasn’t on his normal schedule he wasn’t eating everythree hours like he had been. The day before he was building up my milk supply, so unfortunately I had someissues with a wet shirt all day in Venice! He wasn’teating much and I was producing a ton of milk. Luckily I had a scarf to cover up the lactationdamage!Also,I was constantly worried about if he needed a diaper change, would we be able to find a bathroom with a changing table, or when he was going to be hungry again… As it turns out, it wasn’t so bad, but we did have to get creative with his diaper changing situation. We ended up changing him on the floor of a restaurant… in the trunk of the car… on the front seat… even on a bench in St Marks square. LOL. I guess you have to get creative to take care of the little guy!



It was bitter sweet to see my mom and Jim leave this morning. It’s nice to have the house back to normal, but I’m going to really miss them. It was great to havemy momsinsight on the little man, and have her and Jim’s experience with babies. It was just a little stressful for methough because I wanted to play hostess to them on their first trip to Italy and have them see the sights, but really they wanted me to relax and rest. It was tough because I wasn’t up for doing much and that made me feel bad because I wasn’t going with them to see the Duomo or other parts of the city. But they were a huge help and I will definitely miss having them around!

Vincent loves taking walks and I foresee that becomming a daily afternoon routine for us. When he doesn’t get out to move around I’ve noticed that he becomes an afternoon snacker… He’ll eat for five minutes, then sleep for half an hour, then repeat. This can last all afternoon!! So walks will definitely be a good thing to prevent that. He’s now been sleep for a couple of hours from our walk today 🙂 That’s why I have time to write this blog.

We are so in love with our little man and have seen some huge changes already. He’s starting to fill out and his cheeks are getting chubby. He’s also developing some baby acne, hopefully we can clear that up. He’s also making more faces and starting to smile a bit- usually when he’s feeding or sleeping. But he’ll give a grin when he’s awake every now and then.

Day two with the in-laws and we are off to Venice! After a great night sleep, everyone was feeling refreshed and ready to go. The first order of business was to stop by the bank so Laura and Mike could get some cash. Well… about an hour and three phone calls later, they were finally able to take out cash! Apparently Wells Fargo missed the memo when they advised the bank about their trip to Europe. After that we had cash in hand, and coffee and brioches in our tummies, so we were ready to get on the road! It only takes us about 2.5 hours to drive to Venice from our house, so we arrived in the early afternoon after checking into our hotel in Padua.


SIDE NOTE: Word to the savvy travelers- hotels in Venice are extremely expensive! We like to stay just outside of Venice and we usually find great deals in Padua (about 20-30 minutes from Venice by car). You can also stay in Mestre if you don’t have a car; it’s the first train stop when leaving Venice (about 10 minutes by train).





That day a big cold front moved through Venice with storms in the morning, but luckily it stopped raining by the time we arrived. Although the front brought late fall weather with it! We arrived at a wind tunnel and it was super cold!! We weren’t prepared for weather THAT cold, but we made it work. Even when it’s cold and windy, Venice is still an amazing place! It was fun this time around because the city wasn’t as packed with people so we could walk without feeling herded 🙂 We showed them the Rialto Bridge and did a little shopping, then it was time for a co*cktail. There are a bunch of bars/restaurants on the Grand Canal right by the Rialto, so we stopped to have a drink and take in the scenery. We enjoyed watching the Carabinieri go by in their boats, as well as the water taxis that have the wood interiors. Mike and Laura opted out of a gondola ride because it was so cold. Maybe next time?





We didn’t have any tickets to see the museums in Venice, but we did go up the tower in Piazza San Marco which was awesome. Originally we thought we would get in some good exercise by taking the stairs, but the only way up was in an elevator. Since there weren’t many people in Venice, there wasn’t a line to see it (usually there is a very long line). It was great timing because the sun was starting to set and was coming out of the clouds. After the rain that morning, the air was really clear so we could into the Alps! It was so amazing!!! There were white capped mountains as far as the eye could see! Unfortunately it was REALLY cold up there, so we only stayed for about 10 minutes before going back down.

Before dinner we walked around the back alleys of Venice and found some really cute residential areas. We stopped at a small “hole in the wall” bar for another co*cktail before dinner- after all, we were on vacation! During our little happy hour, Josh called the restaurant we wanted to have dinner at to see if they had availability. Over the phone they told him they were completely booked for the night. We wanted to verify this… so we walked to the restaurant and I went in to ask. The guy I spoke to said they had plenty of availability so we got a table right away. As it turns out, in Italy it helps to be a young, blond woman in these situations!! 🙂 The restaurant was known for its seafood, so of course we had our share of seafood! It was delicious!

After a fun day in Venice, we started walking back to the car with sore, cold feet. On the way Mike wanted to stop for water, but we told him we were only about five minutes away from the car (and we had lots of water bottles in the car). He was extremely parched at this point. Apparently Josh and I misjudged how far away we were because 15 minutes later Mike asked, “Are we there yet?” Again, we said, “Really, it’s only about five more minutes”. About a half an hour later we arrived at the car. Poor Mike was so thirsty that he took down a monster bottle of water in only two minutes! Of course that was an inside joke for the rest of their trip- “only five more minutes!” By this time we got back to the hotel we were all pretty tired, so we called it a night and crashed.

Next stop: Verona and Juliet’s balcony!





We arrived in Venezia around mid-day, and as always there were a lot of people in the city. Just like last time, we felt like we were being herded around the city in a herd of cattle. But, we were able to find those small corners where there were no people, and no boats cruising by. The funniest part is that most of the tourists are either American or Chinese. Because we saw so many Chinese tourists (and some of us have had bad experiences with them being rude), we decided to start taking pictures with them in the background. It was a silly thing we started… but it turned out to be really fun! (I know… I know… not the nicest thing to do- I can hear my mom now in a scolding tone- Maren!)

 

 







We started from the Venezia train station and traveled by water bus to get to our hotel which was near Piazza della San Marco (St Mark’s Square). On the way there we got to see a side of Venice that I haven’t seen before. We saw a bunch of churches on the canals, palaces, and people boating around. There were even stop lights at some corners for the boats. Since there are no roads in the city and the only way around is by boat, it makes sense that there are stoplights for the boats. It was just a strange sight to see!

We walked around the city and saw the usual sights- Rialto Bridge, St Marks Cathedral, the Grand Canal, the tiny alleys, and of course, we had to find a gelato shop! On our last trip to Venice we found an amazing little gelato shop and decided to bring James and Sofia there. James was on a gelato hunt on this trip, and he wanted to eat as much as possible. As time will tell… he ate his fair share!! He even did a little dance for us because he was so excited for gelatoJ Luckily I had the Flip with me!

St Mark’s Cathedral is a wonder! The entire ceiling is made of gold mosaic, and everything inside has almost a Turkish influence. The mosaics on the floors had symbols that seemed Turkish as well. St Mark’s body is also buried there.





We stopped for the standard “before dinner” drinks and then found a restaurant for the main course. This restaurant was so cool on the inside! It felt like we were in a tiny, old wooden building with the large beams in the ceiling and the old world feel to it. They even had a large copper coffee machine that looked like it was straight from the early 1900’s. The location was perfect, and the food was great! We enjoyed a nice dinner, and then headed out again to walk around. After all of the tourists from their cruise ships left the city, it was actually really great to see the city. The streets are quiet after dark, and the city seems to take on a different life. We went back to Piazza della San Marco and a few bands were playing at the restaurants. We stopped to listen and of course… James broke out into a dance! Seconds later Josh started dancing as well… Although, I’m not sure you can call it dancing! It’s more of their version of the Mamushka from Addam’s Family. You can be thejudge and watch the video below.Before we knew it, it was after midnight and everything was shutting down. The one thing we didn’t do this time around is the gondola ride, but James pinky promised with Sofia that they will come back to Italy and take a gondola ride.

The next morning we woke up early to get on the road for the next stop- Florence!

 





About three weeks ago, Josh’s uncle Craig was visiting Switzerland for a work trip and decided to swing down to Italy for a weekend before flying home. He was very excited to see Venice, so we drove out for the day on Saturday. Of course, it seemed that everyone in Italy had the same idea! It was a holiday weekend for Italy, so there were many families in Venice on holiday. Not to mention there were 5 or 6 cruise ships docked there as well. With that being said, it was difficult to walk down the tiny narrow alleys of Venice without bumping into someone. It seems like we were being herded through the streets and I kept expecting Chandler Bing to be somewhere yelling “Moo”. Even when moving like a herd of cattle, the city is still amazing.

When we first arrived in Venice, we saw an artist with some great artwork on the street. We LOVED her impressionistic style and were very interested in purchasing a canvas. But with Josh being the analytically minded person he is, we decided to keep shopping. I can’t blame him- we would have been carrying the canvas with us all day. We could always go back. So, we waited to purchase artwork until later in the day.





 

We started out by grabbing lunch, and a beer on one of the side streets. When Craig and I were drinking our beer I came to the realization that Venice is the original “Shabby Chic”. The city walls are cracked, peeling, and the city could definitely use some updating, but that is the allure of it. It is so charming and there are so many great sites to see. We did the touristy things- walking around, enjoying the scenery and we took a gondola ride. Since there were three of us, we decided to take a gondola ride with another group of three from Chile. One of the women was so scared that the gondola would tip over and we would take a dip in the Grand Canal. She kept screaming and shrieking, and our gondolier was saying “we have a screamer!” That seemed to be the phrase of the day.