2008 Woodie Awards
Trip to Venice
Caryn Connolly
Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: Local News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Venice, land of gondolas, canals, and over four hundred bridges, is not just for lovers. I returned just a few days ago from a three-day, four-night trip with my sister. When I told my coworkers that I was going to Venice in August, they had many things to say: "Everything will be closed in August," "Venice will stink because it's August, although not as badly as it smelled a few years ago," and my personal favorite, "It's going to be filled with American tourists."
After hearing so many different comments, I really didn't know what to expect.
The room at the Holiday Inn Venice East was a very pleasant surprise. When we arrived at the reception desk, we were greeted by a very pleasant man who offered us a choice of accommodations: without too much complaint, we took the king size room. Unlike many rooms in Europe, this room was large by U.S. standards. The bathroom had a huge tub and a shower stall and was considerably larger than some of the bedrooms I've seen for rent in the Hoboken area. Watching Anime dubbed in Italian on MTV was our main pastime until we passed out from shear exhaustion.
The train to Venice was located directly outside the hotel. On our first full day in Venice we inadvertently slept late and missed the only train for two hours. The man at the reception desk (the same one who was on duty 16 hours earlier) offered us free use of the airport shuttle; from there we were able to catch a bus into the city for only 3 Euros. Even though the bus was packed, a man stood up to allow me to sit.
At first, Venice didn't seem very impressive. We decided to wander off in a random direction instead of hitting the tourist spots, but it was all old buildings and mostly residential areas. We started walking back the direction we came from and eventually explored as far as the Rialto, the famous bridge with an outdoor market and shops.
The next day, we purchased vaporetti (Venetian water taxi) tickets. These water taxis allowed us to explore beyond Venice to the islands of Murano and Burano.
After hearing so many different comments, I really didn't know what to expect.
The room at the Holiday Inn Venice East was a very pleasant surprise. When we arrived at the reception desk, we were greeted by a very pleasant man who offered us a choice of accommodations: without too much complaint, we took the king size room. Unlike many rooms in Europe, this room was large by U.S. standards. The bathroom had a huge tub and a shower stall and was considerably larger than some of the bedrooms I've seen for rent in the Hoboken area. Watching Anime dubbed in Italian on MTV was our main pastime until we passed out from shear exhaustion.
The train to Venice was located directly outside the hotel. On our first full day in Venice we inadvertently slept late and missed the only train for two hours. The man at the reception desk (the same one who was on duty 16 hours earlier) offered us free use of the airport shuttle; from there we were able to catch a bus into the city for only 3 Euros. Even though the bus was packed, a man stood up to allow me to sit.
At first, Venice didn't seem very impressive. We decided to wander off in a random direction instead of hitting the tourist spots, but it was all old buildings and mostly residential areas. We started walking back the direction we came from and eventually explored as far as the Rialto, the famous bridge with an outdoor market and shops.
The next day, we purchased vaporetti (Venetian water taxi) tickets. These water taxis allowed us to explore beyond Venice to the islands of Murano and Burano.