Traveling: June 2013

Thursday, 6 June 2013

Venice 2013 - Part 1

Arriving In Chioggia

Thursday - May 30th 2013

Venice is just a couple of hours away from Austria and since Claudia and I had a few days off, we decided to visit that beautiful city.

Around 7:00am we left Salzburg and after five hours of driving we arrived in Chioggia, a small town south of Venice. At home the weather was really bad, but unfortunately it wasn't so much better in Italy either. However it was a bit warmer and it wasn't raining that heavily like in Salzburg.

Finding the hotel wasn't that easy thanks to the very small streets in Chioggia, but finally we got to our hotel. We stayed in the Hotel Grande Italia, which was located at the far end of the Main Street right next to the harbour. The check in was quick and easy and soon we dropped off our luggage. Our room was clean and nice and offered a TV, a minibar and of course a bathroom. Although it was a bit worn down, it had its very special old Italian charme. The hotel is housed inside a restored early 20th century Palazzo and offers a restaurant, a bar and a small Wellness Area. Breakfast was also included in our package and it was served in a beautiful ball room from where we had a wonderful view over the harbour.

Hotel Grande Italia

Hotel Grande Italia Lobby

Hotel Grande Italia Bar

Our Room

Bathroom

To start our vacation we both had a glass of Aperol Spritz at the hotel bar overlooking Piazza Vigo. Afterwards we decided to visit Venice. Since Chioggia is at the south end of the laguna, we had to take two ferries and a bus to get there. That was a bit inconvenient, but we didn't mind that. First a ferryboat took us in 15 minutes to Pellestrina and from there we had to take the bus to Lido di Venetia. A last boat ride and one hour and 15 minutes later we arrived in Venice. A twelve hours ticket is 18 Euros per person, but you can ride all the Actv waterbuses in and around Venice and that was very convenient.

Aperol Spritz

Chiogga Piazza Vigo

Chioggia

Our Hotel

Our Hotel and Chioggia seen from the Ferry Boat

Fantastic Yachts

We got off at Piazza San Marco and were amazed by the beautiful buildings. We wanted to go inside the Basilica San Marco, but the line was so long that we decided against that. After walking around the small streets, it started to rain and so we had a beer at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Piazza San Marco

Venice

Canal Grande

Hard Rock Cafe Venice

Bahama Mama Cocktail

Around 6:00pm we took the boats and the bus back to Chioggia where we had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant named Ristorante El Fontego. Claudia ordered a Pizza Marinara, while I had a Pizza Margherita. Later we walked around Chioggia before we returned to the hotel.

Ristorante El Fontego

Grilled Zucchini

Pizza Marinara

Hotel Grande Italia by Night

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Venice 2013 - Part 2

Venice

Friday - May 31st 2013

We got up around 7:30am, because we wanted to catch the boat at 8:45am, but before we had a wonderful breakfast with cheese, eggs, rolls, jam, juices, coffee, sweet baked goods and other delicious things like fruits and cereals.

Breakfast Room

Breakfast

Our first stop in Venice was the Disney Store, but since they didn't sell any pins we didn't buy anything. Instead we walked to the Canal Grande and stopped at fruit market where we had some strawberries.

Disney Store

Canal Grande

Rialto Bridge

Canal Grande

Venice

Canal Grande

Cruise Ship at Venice Harbour

Around noon we had lunch at Ristorante Gam Gam, a Kosher restaurant that serves Falaffels. We both had a Falaffel dish and soon we were on a boat back to Piazza San Marco. However, we got off the boat at another station and bought some delicious Italian Ice Cream.

Ristorante Gam Gam

Fried Artichoks

Lunch

Venice

Ice Cream

Sea Gull

Venice

Next stop was Santa Maria Della Salute, a beautiful church on the other site of Canal Grande. Later we had another Aperol Spritz and then we walked back to Piazza San Marco. Unfortunately it started to rain again and so we had a glass of wine at the Hard Rock Cafe. Since the weather didn't get better we decided to return to Chioggia. When we left the Hard Rock Cafe, Piazza San Marco was already partly under water.

Santa Maria Della Salute

Aperol Spritz

Piazza San Marco

Hard Rock Cafe Venice

Piazza San Marco

More Yachts

Lido Di Venetia

Back in Chioggia we refreshed at our hotel and then we had dinner at the same restaurant like yesterday. Again we had both had a pizza, grilled zucchini and shared half a liter of red wine.

Ristorante El Fontego

Grilled Zucchini

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Marinara

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Thursday, 6 June 2013

Venice 2013 - Part 1

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Venice 2013 - Part 2