Christmas in Venice

Departure

Hi we are Francesca and Luca and this year we decided to celebrate Christmas in a different way, in Venice.

We leave on Christmas Eve by train from Treviglio at 07.45 (though it then left at 08.30... due to the thick fog....) We arrive at Venice S. Lucia at 11.30 and the weather isn't the best.. in fact the sky is gloomy and in the air you could glimpse a certain haze... We head straight to the hotel: booked online at a cost of €178.50 for three nights on a B&B basis (it's a winter offer). The hotel is ten minutes on foot from the station and easy to find, the neighborhood is S. Croce. The hotel staff is kind and helpful. After settling into the room and resting a bit our Venetian adventure begins. To get to St. Mark's Square you just follow the signs on the walls of the houses, instead we took a different route because we wanted to see other buildings. We come across the Scuola Grande di S. Rocco, which however is closed (it's a religious confraternity dedicated to St.

Rocco where you can admire many works by Tintoretto), continuing along the street we come to the church of S. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, which is open but we decide not to go see (you can decide to buy the Chorus ticket that includes some churches of Venice at a total cost of €8 instead of 2.50 per church. The facade of the church is very beautiful and so is the square. We then visit the house of Carlo Goldoni, which we don't visit because it doesn't interest us much... We then pass by S. Polo square which is beautiful especially decorated for Christmas... very evocative also in the evening all lit up. Then we were curious to see the "bridge of the tits", it took us a while to find it but we did it... it's nothing special it's just a little bridge...

it was named that in the 15th century, here prostitutes leaned out of the windows bare-breasted to encourage customers especially the homosexual ones.. numerous in those days. We arrive at the Rialto bridge, beautiful and majestic with its colorful stalls, that sell everything... Having crossed the bridge we arrive at the church of S. Salvador and at the Telecom Italia Future Centre which we wanted to visit but it was closed for the Christmas period. Finally we arrive at St. Mark's Square, majestic and full of tourists, despite the cold... We only visit the square and take a "seafront" walk. Evening falls and hunger makes itself felt... we head to the hotel and find a very nice restaurant (about 100m from the hotel) it's called La Vecchia Brasserie di Venezia, the menu attracts us and the prices aren't bad either. So ends our first day in Venice.

Christmas

It's Christmas and we get up at 9.00, breakfast and off we go for our tour. We decide to take the vaporetto and cross the entire Grand Canal. Since it's a holiday only the no. 84 is running, usually you take the no. 1, we decide to take it at the train station, so we manage to do the whole tour of the canal. It makes all the stops and you see the facades of the most beautiful and important buildings, like the Church of S. Lucia, Cà Pesaro, Cà d'Oro, the Casino...the Rialto bridge and then the Cà Foscari university, Palazzo Grassi, the Accademia bridge and then you arrive at S. Marco where the ride ends... That day it was fairly sunny even though on the vaporetto you could feel the cold air... we were right in pole position... so all the air came to us... but it was a nice experience. We visited St. Mark's Basilica, beautiful and majestic with these wonderful golden mosaics...

The visit to the Pala d'Oro we had to postpone because on Christmas the staff who collects the money is at home.... No comment... We saw the beautiful Christmas tree of Murano Glass that is set up near the church. A tip if you have backpacks and want to visit the Basilica remember that they must be left and the place is not far it's to the left of the basilica in the alley that makes the corner with the Murrina shop. The storage is free and lasts 1 hour. We had Christmas lunch at Burghi... it's not the best but that's fine... We took another walk through the alleys of Venice and found ourselves again at the Rialto bridge sadder because, since it was a holiday, the shops were closed. We then arrive in front of the church of S. Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and decide to go in... we didn't pay the ticket...

but not because we sneaked in but because no one sold it to us, evidently they put a hand on their heart at least at Christmas... The church is very beautiful, it really deserves a visit!! There are monuments inside to admire. We go back to the hotel and in the evening we dine again in yesterday's restaurant.

Museum Day

St. Stephen's day dedicated to museums... Wake up at 8.30, breakfast and then a walk toward S. Marco, the day is beautiful, the sun is shining and we decide to visit Venice in a different way... in fact we stop a gondolier and take the gondola... I know it's expensive, in fact we paid €100 for a 50-minute visit. The gondolier, Mauro, was very kind and helpful because he acted as our guide, showing us a different Venice. I highly recommend the gondola ride because it's an experience to have even if expensive. We passed under the Bridge of Sighs, near Casanova's house (one of the many houses...) and some properties of Marco Polo. The tour ends at 11.30 and we had an appointment to see the Doge's Palace at 12.00. From home I booked the Museum Pass (at a cost of €18.00, in my opinion very convenient.

We visit the Doge's Palace first (where we pick up the pass), it's very beautiful, I recommend it. You can also see the prisons passing through the Bridge of Sighs. If you're interested there's a painting in the Hall of the Doges that depicts the map of Italy and near the Grand Duchy of Milan there's my little village... Caravaggio written it seems to me Caravagi... After the Doge's Palace we visit the Correr Museum, also in St. Mark's Square, it's a large museum that contains three museums: one concerning objects, paintings from the Venetian nineteenth century, the Archaeological museum (where there are Roman, Greek and Egyptian remains) and the Marciana library.

Since Luca likes the Orient and since in Venice there's the museum of Oriental art we go to visit it (this too is included in the Museum Pass), the museum is beautiful and large besides Oriental art there's also the museum of contemporary art. Before returning to the hotel we also want to visit S. Stae but unfortunately the church is closed. After this very intense day we go back to the hotel, get ready and dine again in the same restaurant.

Last Day... sob sob

Last day... We discovered that our hotel organizes free trips to Murano and we ask at the reception if it was possible to take it, they say yes and at ten, after breakfast, the motorboat arrives, right in front of our hotel. We arrive at the glassworks and a lady awaits us who shows us her factory. They are very good they did a demonstration creating from nothing a fully colored pitcher. Then the lady also showed us the shop they have and the various works they create... it takes a lot of patience and skill. We bought some souvenirs. The return is not organized by the hotel. We took the vaporetto first but we visited a little of the island.. very nice. There are many vaporettos, we recommend you take the DM which is direct and doesn't make intermediate stops, practically it connects Murano with the Station.

We still have a little time and decide to go visit the Leonardo exhibition which is held in a church in campo S. Barnaba. The exhibition is nice with all of Leonardo's machines built according to the original models, the only thing was the price.. six euros.. to see a few models. We couldn't leave Venice without visiting the Basilica once again... we wait in a short line and go in, this time though we also visit the Pala d'Oro... Spectacular, beautiful and shiny... but I don't understand why they charge €1.50 to see it... Mysteries... We go back to the hotel, pick up the luggage we had left in storage and return sadly to the station... sad but satisfied to have spent a different Christmas. Venice offers a lot and is beautiful even in winter. Until the next trip!!!