Tag: Italy

Travel

…and more Venice

Lori Martin

Venice was just too awesome for one post. Day two was more exploring, eating, drinking – repeat. We saw some gorgeous spots. One tip for traveling when it’s hot (and you’re not sure you’ll have easy access to laundry) is WoolX shirts. Seriously! They’re made of Merino Wool – but they’re NOT hot. In fact, they’re soft, moisture wicking, and don’t get stinky. They are quick drying, so if you get stuck in a downpour or decide that you want to wash it out in the sink after several days of wear, these shirts will easily hang dry overnight! I have two of the Mia V-neck shirts and absolutely LOVE them! You can save $20 on a $50 order by clicking HERE! You can thank me later! They’re incredible. I’ve already ordered long sleeve shirts for our May 2024 Alaskan cruise!

OK, back to Venice. We had a washer, but no dryer in our apartment. I guess that’s what made me think of the WoolX tees. I washed my stuff on day 1 and then had everything hung about the apartment hoping it would dry. My jeans and heavier items did NOT dry easily, so those had to be soaked and washed once I got home. I will say had I been comfortable enough to leave them out in the courtyard on the drying rack in the sun, they likely would’ve dried just fine, but I was afraid I’d return and someone would’ve stolen my “Mom Jeans”…which in hindsight, really was not a valid concern!

I’m a big fan of the Aperol Spritz – even located Aperol at home!
Food and drink – amazing!

One thing that was a “must find” while I was in Venice was the Lellabella yarn shop! I had decided that, as a knitter, a cool souvenir would be yarn from my travels. Drake brought yarn back from Scotland for me, so I was on a mission to locate this mother-daughter owned shop that is packed with amazing yarns. I was like a kid in a candy store!

Drake picked out a merino wool/cashmere blend yarn for a scarf/hat combo and then I just bought random things for random projects. The ladies were so lovely to help me and we were able to work through the language barrier fairly easily. While we were there a few local customers came in with their projects seeking help from the owners, which then inspired me to buy more yarn once I saw what it looked like when knit up!

I’m VERY happy that I found the yarn shop!

We walked along, stopping in shops that interested us, taking photos of the beautiful surroundings, and of course – eating and drinking when needed!

For our final full day in Venice, I told Drake and Sara that I was going to get up early, have breakfast at a neighborhood cafe and then head out to Burano for the day. They were welcome to join me or they could do something else, but I wanted to meet up for a nice dinner for our last night. They decided to stay there, so I headed out on the morning of May 23 for Burano. First up was a cafe just around the corner from our apartment for an AMAZING breakfast.

Tiramisu pancakes with a cappuccino – SO DELICIOUS!

I felt like a savvy traveler, navigating the public water bus system and getting myself out there! I had to change water bus lines a few times in order to get to Burano, but I made it.

The trip to Burano included a line change at Arsenale, gorgeous scenery from the boat, and an adorable Venice pup who had a very “Scruffy-like” face and reminded me of home!

Burano is a gorgeous island, full of brightly painted buildings and amazing shopping. Before I got too engrossed with the shopping I stopped at an outdoor cafe and enjoyed a few drinks and some amazing food.

Best spaghetti I’ve ever had. Limoncello spritz vs. Midori spritz – both were delicious and refreshing!
Such vibrant colors, luxurious fabrics, and lively music – it was truly an experience for all your senses!

After enjoying my day on Burano I headed back to the apartment to meet up with Drake and Sara. I knew that at this point, an entire new suitcase would be required to get all my stuff home, so dinner and finding a suitcase were on our agenda for the evening.

We decided to eat dinner at an outdoor cafe on the Grand Canal near Rialto. The food was decadent and delicious – as always – and we were able to sit and leisurely enjoy our meal as well as the sights and sounds of Venice. We enjoyed a delicious appetizer of Buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto and then I had a pasta with freshly shaved truffles on top. Molto bene!

After an amazing dinner it was time to get packed up and ready to head home. The red suitcase is also a “souvenir” from Venice! Pro-tip – pack your suitcase and put it INSIDE another suitcase so you don’t have to buy one on vacation!

We did public water bus transport to the airport, and it was quite easy. I had been watching when we were taking the water bus and knew there were a few that were dedicated Marco Polo lines. We got to the airport, got checked in, and soon boarded our flight back home. It was a wonderful trip! Our flight went from Venice to Atlanta, which is where I left Drake and Sara. Our company had a show in Atlanta that week, so I stayed in Atlanta and met up with the team. Drake and Sara flew on to Nashville and then drove home.

You always see this stuff and it’s easy to say “yeah, I’m going to do that” but not many of us actually do – TAKE the trip, VISIT the places you want to see, DO SOMETHING spontaneous, SPEND TIME with your loved ones. This trip was a great reminder to me that there is an amazing world out there, full of incredible sights…and we are on limited time. This trip reminded me of that and ignited the desire to go, do more. See more. Experience more. Live more.

So, friends – if you’ve made it this far…well, this is just the beginning. More experiences, more new adventure, more fun times are ahead…and I hope you’ll join me in these adventures as well as the average daily life!

Travel, Uncategorized

Venice

Lori Martin

Once our amazing cruise was over, we were back in Venice for 4 days and 3 nights. I had rented a 2-bed/2-bath apartment via Air BnB, so once we got back to Tronchetto we made our way to the ACTV ticket station and got a pass (I believe it was for 72 hours) and found the vaporetto line that we needed in order to get to our apartment.

Venice is divided into six districts – San Marco, San Polo, Santa Crose, Cannareggio, Castello, and Dorsoduro. We were staying in San Polo and our host had told us to meet him at Campo San Polo, which is essentially the town square for that district. We were early, so we sat down at a lovely cafe and ate a delicious meal. It was probably here that I remembered how differently – and wonderfully – Europeans eat, compared to Americans! Europeans enjoy their meal – they are not squeezing it in between tasks, rushing through it to get to the next “thing”…they savor it, taste the food, enjoy the food, enjoy conversation, relax and take their time. The whole experience is so much more enjoyable when time is the LAST thing on your mind!

We met our Air BnB host at the apartment so that we could drop our luggage off. Because we were early, the apartment wasn’t ready, so the host asked if we could meet him in 20-30 minutes and he would be able to give me the key. Of course that was fine – we were happy to be relieved of our luggage, so the three of us walked into the neighborhood and decided we’d get some gelato while we waited.

This is where things could’ve gone really bad. Remember in an earlier post about this trip I said I had a crossbody bag that I use for traveling. It has a lot of great safety features and I’ve had my bag for several years. My bag isn’t huge, but I can pack a lot of stuff in there! That, combined with the foldable backpack, and I’m good to GO!

We found a gelato stand and ordered. Sara and Drake were next to the counter and I was behind them. I handed Sara my card to pay for the gelato – and here’s where I went wrong. Normally I’d USE the safety features of my bag and zip is closed, and attach the zipper pull to the “D ring” on the bag….but I didn’t. I left my bag unzipped. Earlier I had my jacket on so I had the bag strap short so that the bag didn’t hang below my coat. Because of that it was up high, basically right between “the girls”. I was handed my gelato and was standing there in gelato heaven, waiting for Sara to hand my card back to me. I felt movement and looked down to see a hand in my bag!

I wish I had a really clear depiction of what took place next, but it was basically a shit show. I started yelling at the man to my left, who was VERY close, and had a heavy jacket over his left arm. He started yelling at me because I was accusing him of pick pocketing. I looked into my bag and did an inventory of my things – everything was there – but that’s when I noticed the pocket INSIDE my bag. The zipper was open and the wad of cash I had in there (which was mostly $5’s to use for tips and such) was up high in that pocket, basically above the zipper. I KNEW I had not left it like that, because I had handed Sara my card, not gotten into the cash pocket.

The man and I continued to “share heated words” (that’s the PG version) and then he yelled something about me not being normal and my level of “losing my shit” went from about a 3 to a solid 6. I yelled at him that I was in fact VERY normal and what isn’t normal is stealing from people who are trying to enjoy a vacation. He kept saying I was not normal and then I offered that perhaps we should have the police come check that bag under the coat on his arm and see WHO the normal one was. He quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd.

What the actual hell??? Thank goodness my bag was up high, because otherwise I don’t think I’d have felt it. Lesson learned – the safety features of a bag (or anything, for that matter) do not make a difference if you do not USE said safety features! From then on, the bag was opened to retrieve payment method, zipped up, and then reopened to put the card or change back into it’s pocket. I always clipped the zipper pull to the D-ring for extra protection.

Basically, I got really freaking lucky. I got lucky that I caught him, I got lucky that he didn’t get anything, and I got lucky that nobody was hurt. Yelling at a thief is probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, but I didn’t really stop to think of that in the heat of the moment!

After that, we went back to the apartment to meet the host to get the keys and then decided after that excitement perhaps we’d unpack, rest, and plan out the day. We got familiar with the apartment, which had 3 “balconies” with windows that opened and lower doors that opened for hopping into your boat. It was very “authentic” Venice and pretty cool – until the first gondola goes gliding by with the gondolier explaining the area to his passengers – and then it was TOTALLY COOL!

After unpacking a bit, some rest, and checking in with home (back in the land of reliable wifi) we decided to head out and walk around a bit. We headed toward San Marcos Square.

Drake, doing his best to continue his tradition of flipping the bird (although more subtly in this one) in every photo – our cruise photos were hilarious – no subtlety in those at all!
I’d like to say I’m such a savvy traveler and fashionista that I coordinate my outfits with the scenery, but the truth is, I’m lucky to walk out of the house with shoes and pants on!

Now, you might look at these photos and wonder if I’m insane or what…who could have fun and feel safe after an attempted pick-pocketing??? Well – I’m in Italy to have fun, and I’m not about to let that asshat ruin my time. It was a good lesson to be more aware of my surroundings (even when surrounded by amazing food and drink) and to USE the safety features of my bag. I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed Venice, even after the incident!

Venice is SUCH a beautiful city. We could’ve scheduled things to do, but we just explored and stopped to eat/drink when we felt like it, and then explored some more. There’s nothing as refreshing (to me) than an Aperol Spritz when you’re starting to get a little sweaty and tired! We had ACTV (public water bus) passes so we could just hop on one and ride for a while, get off and walk around and explore. It was a great way to just have freedom to go wherever and do whatever. Might we have seen some really amazing things had we scheduled tours or museums or shows….of course, but we had a great time doing what we wanted to do!

Doesn’t Drake look THRILLED that I’m taking a video? Ha ha!

We spent a few more days exploring, shopping, eating, and drinking our way around Venice. It was so lovely. Stay tuned for the next, and final, post on Venice – where I show more photos from our adventures around the city, including my trip to Burano on our last full day in Italy.

Travel

Adventure Awaits!

Lori Martin

On April 22 my 21-year old college student son sent me a text asking “would you possibly want to go on a cruise next month”. I was really busy with work so I told him to come up with an itinerary, including air travel to/from and then let me look at it and I’d see if I could get away.

Long story short, I decided I could get away. Maybe it was more I decided I NEEDED to get away, but whatever – tickets were booked and plans were made. The next few weeks will be filled with information about this trip. First of all, this was our FIRST cruise ever. I pretty much had decided I was NOT a cruise kinda person – but then I also remembered once upon a time I “was not a rollercoaster person” until I actually rode one and realized I loved it.

I’ve decided to take my love of writing and my rekindled love of traveling and combine those to make this blog a good informational spot with my no-nonsense opinion on places, excursions, etc. In doing so, I’ll also be participating in the Amazon affiliate program (more information can be found HERE) so you will see me linking to products – BUT, I do not want this blog to become one big advertisement, so I will only be linking up to products that I have personally used and found helpful. I may receive a commission if you purchase from the link(s) that I provide, but this isn’t my life’s work! I promise I will only link to something I personally use.

Now, back to the cruise. We booked a 7 night Greek Isles cruise leaving out of Venice (Ravenna) with Royal Caribbean. Our ship was the Explorer of the Seas. Once we booked it, I decided I should read up on what to know about cruising a bit.

But first – one thing I ALWAYS take when I travel is a anti-theft crossbody bag that I purchased AGES ago. This thing has been with me for YEARS. This bag was perfect for this trip, because Venice has a LOT of pickpockets, sadly. You’ll read about this in a future post, but I actually caught one IN THE ACT because I got complacent and didn’t zip my bag’s zipper while waiting for gelato. (Really good ice cream will make you lose your mind, clearly). Now, my bag is Travelon brand. Maybe they all have this, but the zippers on mine clip to a little ring, so someone cannot unzip your bag as easily because the zipper is clipped. Had I known how handy this bag was, I’d have probably bought one a bit larger, but mine does the trick for now. I can keep everything safe and secure, and the bag is small enough that I can wear it under a jacket. You can find the line of Travelon bags HERE.

I joined several Facebook groups for Royal Caribbean cruisers, read a bunch of articles online, and watched You Tube videos when I couldn’t sleep. One night about 11 pm I read a post from someone who had realized that their Greek Isles cruise from Venice didn’t actually leave from Venice, but from Ravenna, which was 2-3 hours away.

WHAT??? Oh no. What did our itinerary say? It said “Venice” and then a name in parentheses, but that SURELY was the port name or something, right? It definitely was NOT the name of a city a few hours away from Venice….right? WRONG! Our cruise was leaving from Ravenna, 2-3 hours south of Venice, and I had realized this in the middle of the night. Guess who was not getting good sleep that night? As I read the posts, it became clear that the plan was to call RC the next morning and book transportation from Venice to Ravenna and back. OK – I could breathe again, and it would be ok. Back to reading about the Top Ten Things To NEVER Do When Cruising (number one was ALWAYS “book last minute” which is exactly what we did, so IMO, those lists SUCK – because spoiler alert – we had a GREAT TIME!!!

TIP – If you are cruising from Venice and your itinerary or anything you see says “Venice (Ravenna)” you are NOT cruising out of Venice. Do not panic (been there, done that, it didn’t help). Call Royal Caribbean, explain the situation, and IF you are flying in before cruising day, they’re going to offer to book you on a shuttle bus that goes from Tronchetto (the transportation hub in Venice) to Ravenna. Here’s what you need to know about THAT! (See map below) You can take a water bus (vaparetto) to Piazalle Roma. Get off there and then walk to the People Mover (follow the signs). Take the People Mover to Tronchetto. (the people mover runs between Piazzale Roma, Stazione Maritima, and Tronchetto). Your gut instinct may be to get off at Stazione Maritima, especially when you see all the signs for “Cruise Ship” and such – BUT if your transfer from RC says “Tronchetto”, go to Tronchetto!!! Once you come out of the People Mover you will cross the street to the building where you should see people in vests with “Trumpy Tours” on them. Check in with them and they will line you up.

You’ll get on a bus, they drive you to the port at Ravenna, and you don’t have to worry about a thing. If the bus gets a flat and is running late – they’re not going to leave you. BUT, if you rent a car and it gets a flat and you’re running late, they MIGHT leave you, so why risk it?

People were “salty” that the line at the port in Ravenna was long. We were on the bus for a while – yes. But we were in a line of busses and nobody was moving until one bus unloaded and everyone got off. It was raining, so instead of making passengers stand in the rain, we sat on the bus until we could get to the tent, disembark, get our luggage, and move through the boarding process (mostly) out of the rain.

Now, what is my other “OMG, why would you NOT book transportation through Royal Caribbean” rant? Well, while we were cruising, the beautiful port town of Ravenna was hit with a crazy amount of rain. I believe I read they got an entire year’s worth of rain in 2-3 days, so the port and town were flooded – BADLY. So badly, they could not use the port. Instead of disembarking at Ravenna, we were rerouted to Trieste. This change did not impact us at all, because instead of getting off the boat and boarding a bus to Venice from Ravenna, we just got off the boat and boarded a bus to Venice from Trieste. We were given a schedule, which due to the logistics I figured our 0715 disembarkation time would be delayed, and it was. We were ready to go at 0715, but did not have our “group number” called until about 0800, and we were on the bus at 0820. The biggest issue here, IMO, was people not following instructions. You were to remain on board until your group number was called – and ONLY THEN were you to proceed to the disembarkation deck. We saw a lot of people who were headed down and then staff had to send them back up. This tied up staff, elevators, and time. Relax, follow instructions, and relax. Once on the bus at 0820, we headed for Venice and arrived at Tronchetto at 1035.

We were staying a few extra days in Venice near the Rialto bridge. From Tronchetto we took the People Mover to Piazzale Roma, then got on the #1 to the San Silvestro stop, where we had arranged to meet Marco, our Air BnB host.

Because we were staying a few days, we bought a 3-day ACTV pass (water bus). This enabled us to hop on/hop off and get around the city and other islands quite easily. Just make sure you look at the sign to know where you are and which direction you want to go. Worst case scenario if you get on the wrong one, you have a nice long ride around the Grand Canal if you’re going the long way around! Below is a map for the #2 line. I’ve circled the Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto locations in red. You can take the Vaporetto to P.Roma and then the People Mover is a short walk – with signs marking the way.

In hindsight, I would’ve purchased our ACTV tickets online ahead of time. We stayed one night in Venice before the cruise and then 3 nights after. I didn’t realize it before the cruise, but you can buy a combo ticket for the Vaporetto AND People Mover, which is handy, as the line at the People Mover ticket kiosk was long both times we were there. In the future I’d buy those tickets and have them on my phone to avoid the lines. Also, another tip at the People Mover – the escalators are motion sensitive, so it may look like it’s stopped and you need to haul your luggage up/down the stairs, but they are NOT off! They just need some motion to activate them and off you go!

So – that’s a LOT for the first post about the cruise, but as I said, I am going to be detailed in hopes of helping someone else. Tune in next time for more details once we got ON the ship – but here’s a spoiler – loved it so much we booked an Alaskan cruise for next year after the kids graduate (one college and one high school)!!! The countdown is ON!

If you have specific questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Until next time, live adventurously….