"How many do you need in Venice?" is a question often asked on travel forums. At the moment I thought two days would be enough, but the longer time has passed, the more I felt I needed more time.
Itinerary of the day: Pescheria → Venice → Toronto
We had one last morning in Italy before my parents and I return to our little corners of the earth again. We decided to wander around the Pescheria (Rialto Fish Market) for the remaining hours.
Rialto bridge, the oldest and most well-known bridge over the Grand Canal.
Sidewalk and canal on the same level.
On a Saturday, the market would be bigger than usual. Outside the Pescheria building there were also vegetable/fruits vendors.
I love visiting markets around the world, especially fish markets.
Mussels and clams are so affordable here...so jealous.
I especially enjoy looking at old men doing the cutting and filleting at fish markets. There's just something nostalgic about them.
My parents decided to give gondola rides a miss, so I suggested we take the "poor man's gondola" - traghetto, back to the other side of the canal.
Traghetto is a gondola ferry that transport passengers across Grand Canal. There were only four pedestrian bridges on the Grand Canal in total, so sometimes taking one of the many traghetti between these bridges would be more convenient. For backpackers or cheapies like us who didn't want to spend €120 on a gondola ride, traghetto was a fun alternative.
In countries I've visited, some gives tourists discounts in order to attract more tourists, and some jack up prices to maximize profit. Italy belonged to the latter.
€0.50 for residents, €2.00 for tourists....|||||||||||||
This photo was blurred because the traghetto was rocking non-stop. We had a big guy holding a large box of seafood he just bought, so the boat was severely tilted (I thought it was going to flip over lol). A really fun 30 seconds ride! Highly recommended even if just for the experience.
After the fail gelato we had on our first night in Venice, I decided to finally give GROM a try. GROM is a chain gelateria, praised by most but criticized by some. From observation, its chain stores were always crowded in Florence and Milan, so I guess it couldn't be that bad.
I ordered pistacchio, crema di grom and caffe' expresso. The pistacchio tasted like sesame oil!? Confusing pistacchio...but thumbs up for the other two flavours, especially the crema di grom.
We also returned to Osteria La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi for our last meal in Italy. We just had to taste their amazing appetizers again!
For new menu items to try we chose fritto misto di pesce con polenta (mixed fried fish and polenta).
The menu said casarecce con ragu di anatra, but this didn't look like casarecce... pasta shape aside, this dish was delicious. There's nothing like fresh handmade pasta!
It was finally time to gather our luggages from the B&B and take the bus to Venice Marco Polo airport.
Marco Polo airport was modern and clean, but really small, crowded and disorganized. Queues at the check-in counter, queues at security, queues at passport checks, and each a grueling wait. Allow yourself plenty of time to go through.
A confused Chinese man approached us once again at the airport. This was the fourth and final encounter with clueless Chinese tourists in Italy, and probably the most headdesk-worthy one.
Chinese man: (approached us, but didn't speak for the longest time)
Me: "........."
Chinese man: "....You people Chinese?" <---in Mandarin, obviously
Me: ".........(I'm just going to say no lol)"
Dad: "How can we help you?"
Chinese man: "My flight is to Nanjing, but there is no China Southern check-in counter.
Me: "I don't think China Southern flies here..."
Chinese man: "O-oh ok I'm transferring at Frankfurt, but I can't find [German Airlines] counter either?"
Me: "[German Airlines] is a direct translation, the actual name of the airlines is Lufthansa. There are several Lufthansa counters, I can see one right behind you."
Chinese man: "(looks behind, still confused)"
Me: "Yellow banner with a blue crane in a circle."
Maybe it was his first time traveling overseas, but wouldn't a first time traveler be more mindful of the name of the airlines you are taking!?
After slowly my way through security check, there was another queue for passport control. Stamping passport without looking at the ID page couldn't take long right? Wrong! I was standing in the same spot for 20 minutes because people continued to cut in line! As the saying goes, being Italian is contagious!
I switched to the far end line where it would be more difficult to cut in line, and got through right away. Good bye Italy!
If you ask me what I can reflect upon this trip, first thing that came to mind would be all the amazing gastronomy. Italian food is the most popular in the world for a reason. Italians are very sly, have great sense of aesthetics, and so laid back. The amount of art and history goodness I consumed in two weeks was about as much as what I did in my entire lifetime.
I've read about people who vowed to never return. To each their own, but I want to come back. There are so much more left to see in this country, one visit was simply not enough. Thank you Italy, for an unforgettable vacation!
