Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report: Honeymoon 2008 – Venice and the Amalfi Coast (PART I: VENICE)

As I received such wonderful help and advice on these boards, I wanted to post my own thoughts/reflections on what was, really, a “trip of a lifetime” for my husband and me in May of 2008.

After much deliberation and back and forth (and after changing our itinerary in Italy about 3 times!!!), we decided to do two destinations in Italy, instead of trying to see a bunch of different cities and running ourselves ragged. After our wedding, we were exhausted and ready for relaxation. We felt that doing a small city, like Venice, would provide us with culture and things to do and see, and then visiting a second location like the Amalfi Coast would be the perfect ending – with tons of relaxation and amazing views.

We flew Alitalia from JFK into Milan, and then went from Milan to Venice, by train. The reason we flew into Milan was the dearth of direct flights from NY to Venice – in fact, there weren’t any when we were traveling. I’m not sure if there are more direct ways to get from New York to Venice, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. From Milan (Malpensa), we took a shuttle bus to Milan’s central train station – and then took the train into Venice.

By the time we arrived in Venice, we were absolutely exhausted. Having traveled for about 18 hours straight (in terms of actual travel time from point A to point B), we were not sure what we were getting ourselves into when we came into Venice. It was overcast, raining, and not the most inspiring of days. The area by the train station was crowded and a little overwhelming (especially given our lack of sleep). The views at that point weren’t amazing (different, for sure), and we were worried if we had made a mistake about choosing Venice (we absolutely did NOT, so please read on!!!)

Exhausted and not ready to lug our bags from the train station to the hotel, we decided to splurge and take a water taxi from the area near the train station to our hotel, which was located in San Polo. We welcomed the opportunity to see the Grand Canal from a boat, and decided the 45 euros was worth it.

The water taxi driver dropped us off in front of an unassuming green door, and told us that we were at our destination, Oltre Il Giardino. It looked like the entrance to a home, so my husband and I wondered if we were in the right place. We went in, and any exhaustion over our long travel seemed to melt away, as we were welcomed to the hotel (I hesitate to call it a hotel – it really was more like staying at the really beautiful home of an elegant Venetian).

Located in San Polo, Oltre Il Giardino is located far, far away from San Marco and all of the tourist areas of Venice. We didn’t hear any noise our entire stay, except church bells and the sounds of children playing at a nearby school. Our room was about 330 euros (including tax, etc.) per night, which, from what I’ve heard, is a steal in Venice. The rate included a simple but elegant breakfast, which we ate either outside on the main patio, or inside in the living room area listening to French jazz that they had playing on the stereo. I posted a review on TripAdvisor (MYS79) if anyone wants more detail about the hotel, but in a nutshell – it was incredible. I hate to use the phrase “hidden gem”, but that’s really what it was. The staff was extremely helpful and knowledgeable, and gave us recommendations for restaurants and things to do (and also, places to avoid). Manuele, the gentleman on the night shift, is an absolute sweetheart. Our room was gorgeous, spacious, and private (the Green Suite), as it was on the 1st floor of the property, away from the other 2nd floor rooms. Everything about this place was incredible. If you love boutique hotels, as I said on TripAdvisor, you will love this place – If you like places like the Bauer Hotel or Gritti Palace, then it isn’t for you.

I’m not very good at doing day-by-day accounts of everything we did and where we ate, so I thought I’d give some of my “HIGHLIGHTS” and “LOW(ER) LIGHTS” (very few in the latter category!) As I say below, the only reason for spelling out any negatives is to help people out there with their own travel plans. The few minuses we encountered were completely overshadowed by everything wonderful about the city.

LOW(ER) LIGHTS – Venice was amazing, but there were a few things that we would have done differently the 2nd time around. I hope you find the information helpful for your own travels! I’m starting with these, because they were so minor, and I want to get to the good stuff after I get this out of the way!

*Getting ripped off at Il Ribbot in Santa Croce - We were walking around San Polo, then went into Santa Croce, where we found an outdoor garden/lunch spot called Il Ribbot.

There were “specials” listed on a menu outside of the restaurant, and the waiter standing by the door asked us if we wanted to try either the fish or meat special (the small was 10-15 euros – don’t remember precisely), and the large was 30 euros. We thought to ourselves “why not?” and walked in with the waiter to the back of the restaurant, where there was a fantastic little garden. This was clearly not a tourist spot, as everyone in the garden eating was in a suit and tie –people were having business lunches, and we were so happy we found somewhere off-the-beaten path….

…UNTIL we got the bill. After we sat down, the waiter asked us if we wanted the fish or meat special – he didn’t even give us menus. Not really thinking about it, we ordered the fish special – assuming we were ordering the small (presumably individual) sizes. The platters came out, and we tried to enjoy our meal (the fish were, well, VERY fishy – not really our thing, but we tried to work through the lunch). The waiter then brought us our bill after we ate, and it came to 95 euros. 95 euros??? For lunch?? We were shocked. We asked him how it was so high, and he told us that the fish specials were 40 euros – each. EVEN if he had intentionally or inadvertently brought us the “large” (which was clearly not our intention), he overcharged us by 10 euros on each plate.

Incensed, my husband at first tried to speak politely with the gentleman, but decided not to pursue it – even though he had definitely ripped us off by 20 euros (and more, if you count his intentionally giving us something more expensive than we wanted). However, the waiter didn’t do the math correctly on the bill, so we would have owed 20 euros MORE if he had added correctly. We decided to leave what he said we owed, give NO tip, and get the hell out of there.

That was the first and last time we were ever overcharged or, frankly, swindled while we were in Italy. My husband and I are pretty savvy travelers, but we felt totally duped, and a little stupid. We never made that mistake again – ordering without a menu – and we didn’t have a problem after that.

*Not buying a multi-day pass for the vaporetto. We were thinking that we’d walk everywhere—and for the most part, we did—but we should DEFINITELY have bit the bullet early in the week and bought tickets for the week instead of individual tickets. We found ourselves waiting in long lines at the Ferrovia train station trying to get to Murano, and realized it would have been worth it to buy multi day passes so we could have avoided the long lines. Not a big deal – but something we would have done differently.

*Mosquitos! Bring calamine lotion or some sort of cream – I have no idea where I got bitten (our hotel bedroom had screens on the windows), but my bites were BIG. Not a big deal – went to a local pharmacy, and bought cream there – but just something to remember while walking around in shorts or capris!

I hate to even spell out ANY negatives we had, because our trip, frankly, was magical. We loved every minute we were in Venice, and the city was beautiful during the day, at night, and the time in between.

I’ve detailed below some of my favorite things about Venice – I hope you get to experience them too!

HIGHLIGHTS:

*Wandering around without knowing where we were going – My husband and I decided to spend six nights in Venice because we really wanted to get a flavor of the city. It was so amazing to just walk around, get lost, and not worry about what “to do” we had to hit. We really felt as if we really got a flavor for Venetian culture (seeing the amount of gelato consumed, the men in suits and ties crossing the canal on traghettos to get to work!, and everything in between). I highly recommend taking the time in Venice – everyone seems to say that only 2-3 days is enough – but I really do think that it’s nice to be in the city and really immerse oneself in the culture. Plus, doing day trips to the smaller islands (see below) becomes much easier and less of a time suck.

*Visiting Murano and Isle San Michele. Definitely take the time to visit at least one or two of the islands off of Venice. Murano was very cool with the glass-blowing we got to see up close and personal, and if we weren’t hindered by the darn euro/American dollar, we would have been tempted to have a beautiful glass chandelier shipped back to NYC! It is a very touristy place, but you either have to embrace it (much like my husband buying me a rose from a street peddler in the city), or not do it at all.

San Michele was really cool. It may sound weird/freaky, but I really love cemeteries – I think there is something inherently beautiful about them. The cemetery was much more modern and kept up than I was expecting (I’m very into old, 17th and 18th century spots with ivy growing all over the place), but the Evangelical section had that haunting, beautiful feeling – the section where foreigners/ex-pats were buried long ago. Ezra Pound’s grave was somewhere in there, but my husband and I spent a half an hour trying to find it – wherever it was, it must have been completely covered over in ivy. It was a really eerie section (no one else was in there while we visited), but very cool (at least in my opinion).

*Restaurants – we really loved Alla Zucca in Santa Croce – adorable little restaurant that was a perfect beginning to our trip. Fairly casual, very low-key, and completely unpretentious, Alla Zucca was where we found one of only very few female waitresses/staff members during our trip (just an observation!). Alla Zucca is also an interesting choice, because there is very little fish on the menu (which was fine with my husband and me, as we’re not that into fish). The pasta was fantastic, and we really enjoyed this tiny restaurant.

Also our highlights – Da Ivo – a tiny hidden gem – virtually everyone there was a tourist J but we thought the food and service were excellent, and it was a very charming place. Highly recommended.

Osteria di Santa Marina, an adorable little restaurant – great service, fantastic gnocci – for a full report, the New York Times gives a great description of the restaurant: http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/gui...=1154680441116

Al Gondolieri – In Dosoduro near the Guggenheim. Very intimate, cozy restaurant. Good food, good service. We really enjoyed it, and it was recommended by the staff at Oltre Il Giardino.

*Doge’s Palace – Worth the lines and the wait. Very cool. We tried to avoid most of the big tourist spots, but I really was excited to see this place. It didn’t disappoint. Definitely look at the guidebooks as you walk through, if you aren’t doing a tour – you’ll get a feel for which rooms to look at, which to skip, and which are “musts” – we loved seeing the armory (really, REALLY scary weapons back in the day!!!) The Bridge of Sighs was really amazing to see, as were the prisons.

*Peggy Guggenheim Museum – Just as everyone says; really beautiful setting for a museum (in her private estate overlooking the Grand Canal), and really amazing artwork. The garden leading into the museum is really neat – we liked seeing her tomb, next to the tombs of all of her pets (with all of the names listed). The sculpture of the man on horse overlooking the Grand Canal is not to be missed. Really cool!

*Gondola Ride – We had to do it. Definitely recommended at dusk (our photos are amazing – the sun is just starting to set, so everything is sunlight/shadows), or at night – I think during the day is a waste of money, frankly. I loved doing the ride through the smaller canals. Make sure to negotiate the rate up front with the gentleman, and be specific about where you want to go (smaller canals, or Grand Canal).

*Cannareggio – Great neighborhood to walk around in. Seeing the Jewish ghetto was really interesting, and it was neat to walk around after that, and see Campo del Mori and the outside of what was Tintoretto’s house. We really enjoyed our time in this area, as it was relatively empty and a great area to walk.

*Friari Church (San Polo) – Maybe I was partial to it, because it was a stone’s throw from our hotel. The inside is magnificent in a simple but embellished way. It’s so grand inside, it’s hard to believe just from looking at the stark exterior. You can purchase a card which allows you to see a bunch of churches for only a few euros – if you like churches, I highly recommend doing that.

*Alaska (Gelati place) – I believe this was in Santa Croce – AMAZING gelati, amazingly friendly and sweet owner, and really neat place – played reggae music which we thought was pretty cool. A really fun spot and a great stop for something sweet.

*Harry’s Bar- Touristy, yes, but worth it – martinis are delicious. We sat at the bar for about half an hour, and that was enough to get the feel.

That’s all I can think of for now, but feel free to contact me with questions or more information.

My “Part II” will detail our travels on the Amalfi Coast. Our honeymoon was varied and fantastic, and we are so fortunate we were able to experience two amazing and totally different places in Italy.

To be posted in a separate message soon!