Italy 2013, Birthday Celebrations in Venice

Venice is one of those spots that is worth visiting, even if it is a tourist city which empties around 5pm everyday. We had a great time in Venice, both on tour and then later in our trip for a few extra days. We also got to spend our birthday in Venice, eating pizza next to the canals – what could get better than that! The Doge Palace was definitely a highlight of the Venice part of our trip, and is worth seeing. Out of all of the museums we visited in Italy, I think the Doge was the most interesting as it had a great variety of different exhibits, as well as being able to go behind the scenes in some of the closed off areas (on a secret itineries tour), walking across the Bridge of Sighs and seeing the old prison cells.

Some things I learnt during our time in Venice:

• Grom gelato is incredibly delicious, and for that reason it’s probably a good thing we didn’t stay longer in Venice
• It’s a lot of fun to wander the backstreets and not worry about a map

Summary

• What we did: Approximately a day and a bit on tour, and then another 4 days later in the trip
• Favourite part: Wandering through all of the many little streets attempting to find various spots – we eventually stumbled across the places we wanted to get to
• Best Experience: Exploring the secret passageways within the Doge Palace
• Worst Experience: Attempting to find our hotel, maps! Where’s a map (with actual markings) when you need one!
• Must See Attraction: Definitely Saint Marks Square, and the Doge Palace. The museum within the Doge is worth seeing, even if you don’t visit any others in Venice
• Next stop: Onto Ravenna!