Hi! We didn’t get off to a strong start in Venice and the full day that we spent there was just okay. The entire tour by AAA and Collette had been so fast paced and jam packed that I think we all hit the wall that day. In fact, I felt perfectly ready to go home at that point and changed my tune completely when we were in Lake Como the following day. That was much more like it! Our time in Venice was spent seeing a glass blowing demonstration, doing a walking tour, having some lunch, shopping, and returning to the hotel for an early night. As you can see, the scenery was gorgeous and I am happy to have seen Venice. This is a location that I wouldn’t visit again, though. Let’s discuss:

Our first stop for the day in Venice was at the Vetri Artistici where we enjoyed a glass blowing demonstration and browsing through the store. I could have done without being in the store altogether because holy expensive!! Everything was seriously one thousand dollars and up but were, indeed, very beautiful. The glass blowing demonstration was the best part but, unfortunately, only lasted for less than ten minutes. In that short period of time, however, one of the glass masters created a pitcher and a horse which were both stunning. He made the process look so easy and effortless and it was mesmerizing to watch him as he worked. I honestly could have stayed in the warmth of the workshop seeing the masterpieces made around me all day!

After we finished experiencing the Vetri Artistici, we visited a gold and leather store for a demonstration too. This was all nice and interesting but well out of the price range of every single person on the trip! By the time the drool was wiped from my chin over the remarkable gold jewelry, it was off to go on the walking tour to take in sights along the Castello district and end in St. Mark’s Square:

When the walking tour was complete, the remainder of the day was ours to explore the city on our own. As I mentioned before, this was the day where we hit our wall and Venice was incredibly overwhelming. The city was insanely crowded and it felt like a fight to take a few steps forward let alone get good pictures because everyone was there with the same idea. Crowds usually don’t bother me that much but in this case I was so worn out and the last place I wanted to be was in the thick of it. It was a welcome reprieve to have some lunch at Birreria Pedavena and just get away from it all!

Our meal at the restaurant was unremarkable. My quattro formaggi pizza was good but not great and was probably the least noteworthy dining experience outside of our dinner in Venice the previous day. I was thankful to have some leftover, though, because none of us felt like venturing back out in Venice in the evening so cold pizza was the move for dinner. It actually hit the spot more than it did in the restaurant when I had it later because I was so hungry!

Our time in Venice was our least favorite of the trip and that’s not to say it wasn’t nice. It was! I think we were all just too deep in our exhaustion and desire to go home to fully enjoy it!

Do you feel homesick when you travel? What has been your least favorite vacation destination during your travels? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah