A fun day in Venice

– the story of a guitar –

What better place to cure muscle soreness than Venice? It not only has loads of amazing places, streets, corners, shops to explore, but also looots of bridges!

While returning from our road trip to Mont Blanc we made a short stop to roam the streets of Venice. We got to spent a whole day exploring it 🙂

This was not my first time in Venice, it was actually my third time, but every time I got to discover something new about the city 🙂 On the first trip I visited the most famous landmarks and museums and on the second time I randomly roamed on its narrow streets and bridges. But a few years had passed since those visits and I was really looking forward to seeing Venice again. In my opinion, Venice is one of those places that one must explore without a map, where getting lost might get you to cool streets, a quiet cafe or a delicious street-sold pizza 😀

Our day started like a usual day for tourists in Venice …

Our camping was in nearby Mestre, so we had to get the bus in order to get to Venice. Together with lots of other people, we got off the bus at Piazzale Roma and started walking around. The city was crowded even early ( almost early 😛 ) in the morning.

First, we passed by the usual tourist spots,

crossed many bridges and lost count of the number of gondolas we saw,

dodged the omnipresent selfie sticks and of course used our own to take many pictures,

ogled at the colorful displays and got some souvenirs,

and of course took a lot of photos …

… of cool windows,

secret gardens,

secret doors (why was it numbered and how does it open?!?),

no, we didn’t manage to get in 🙁

cool statues,

ornate facades,

and even a dragon!

Around lunch, just as we were wondering where to eat, we passed by a small pizza place. Perfect timing! Although … we were in Italy after all … so the odds were clearly in our favour 😛 We quickly grabbed some pizza slices and beer which we enjoyed on a cute little bridge nearby (to be close in case we needed second servings 🙂 ).

After lunch, we continued our walk for a bit until we found some ice-cream and another small bridge to linger on … And that was the moment we realised we were missing something …

We all knew what IT was … We were planning to bring IT with us from the beginning, but we had to abandon it home when we got assigned a rental van with a smaller trunk. We were worried it wouldn’t fit.

But we soon had a plan 😀

We googled for the shop details and location, made our way through the crowds and confusing google maps directions and there we were! At Mille E Una Nota, one of Venices musical instruments shops!

A few minutes later we left the shop holding a brand new guitar and a tambourine. With our new prized possessions we were planning to look for another little bridge to play on. The initial plan was to play and raise the money we paid for it 🙂

But not before talking to the carabinieri to check the town rules regarding playing on the streets for money. Apparently, one needs a permit for that and the permit issuing place had just closed.

We ended up playing anyway, but only for fame and glory 😛 And only after picking the right spot.

And so we spent the whole afternoon on a bridge, playing and singing in all the languages we know.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten my pic taken by so many strangers 😀 I wasn’t even playing (too loud) really … for everyone’s benefit 😛

Gondolas were passing under the bridge and people were passing by us. Some in a hurry, some frowning when they saw us in their path, some smiling and even stopping to sing along, dance or take photos.

A really cool afternoon and interesting place for people watching 😀

There was a bar near the bridge and the waiter kept coming by the door to listen to us. I’ve even seen him tap his foot to the music on a couple of songs!

The highlight was when a group of seven what-we-assumed-were-bachellorettes came to the bar. And, after checking it out and noticing that they couldn’t hear us well from inside (at least that’s what we assumed), decided to sit on the bridge close to us 🙂 The waiter even brought their food and drinks on the bridge! So they sang and mostly danced for a while 🙂

I’m not sure how much time we spent there, but by the time we got tired, the sun was starting to set …

So we headed back to the camping site, but not before admiring Venice by night 🙂

What was the most random thing you ever did on a trip?

Useful info:

• the camping we stayed at is Venezia Camping Village
• there was a bus station close to the camping with buses that go to Piazzale Roma. I can’t remember the exact details, but the staff from the camping reception can tell you anything you need 🙂

I usually also post a map highlighting the places I mention in the posts. But I’ll make an exception for Venice. Try wandering around without one 🙂

* After returning home from our road trip, we hosted a fundraising event where we told the story of our hike to our friends and family. We also auctioned the guitar at the event. All the money that we raised during the event was donated to Climb again, a great project that holds climbing classes for special needs children. I’d like to thank everyone again for taking part at the event! 🙂

** That is the exact spot we played on, on the 9th of July. So if you happened to see us please share the pictures 🙂

trip date: July 2015