The last two weeks on my blog have been really quiet and even though I planned a few articles while I was away in Europe, I thought that right after I get home I would get back on the blogging track, but the week of silence has proven that it didn't exactly happen as I planned. Firstly, I caught a nasty cold right at the end of the trip and only recently I finally feel like myself again. And, secondly, as I still had one week left of vacation I decided to spend it with my family in our summer house which led me to decide to take a little break from both - blogging and social media. So, even though, I was half sick, I still managed to have a really great time with my closest ones and relax! š
Today I wanted to start a two week article series in which I will share with you pictures and impressions from my amazing nine day trip around the beautiful Italy! A short intro about the trip:
- We decided to go everywhere by our car, so it was a pretty long road trip across countries like Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Altogether we stayed at 8 different hotels or apartments. So basically we spent almost every evening in a different location.
- The first destination was Vienna and we drove around 18h non stop from Riga. The road works in Poland will for sure still haunt us in our nightmares as we lost around 2 hours in them.
- Afterward we went to Venice - Verona - countryside house in Tuscany - Pisa - Sestri Levante - Genoa - Swiss Alps - Europa park theme park - Frankfurt am Main - Berlin
LV
PÄdÄjÄs divas nedÄļas blogÄ ir bijuÅ”as klusas, klusas un kaut arÄ« biju ieplÄnojusi pÄris bloga ierakstus laikÄ, kad esmu ceļojumÄ EiropÄ, man likÄs, ka pÄc atgrieÅ”anÄs mÄjÄs, atlikuÅ”ajÄ atvaļinÄjuma nedÄÄ¼Ä ieieÅ”u atpakaļ ierastajÄs blogoÅ”anas sliedÄs, bet klusums blogÄ jau vairÄk kÄ nedÄļu pierÄda pretÄjo. PirmkÄrt, paÅ”a ceļojuma beigÄs, diemžÄl apaukstÄjos un labÄ paÅ”sajÅ«ta atgriezusies ir vien tikai nesen un, otrkÄrt, izlÄmu paÅemt nelielu pauzi gan no bloga, gan arÄ« no soc. tÄ«kliem, lai pa Ä«stam atpÅ«stos vasaras mÄjÄ Saulkrastos. RezultÄtÄ kaut arÄ« biju pa pusei slima, mÄrÄ·i man izdevÄs sasniegt un es jÅ«tos atpÅ«tusies! š
Å odien aizsÄku divu nedÄļu bloga ierakstu sÄriju, kurÄ dalÄ«Å”os ar bildÄm un iespaidiem no patieÅ”Äm fantastiska deviÅu dienu ceļojuma pa skaisto ItÄliju! ÄŖsumÄ ieskicÄÅ”u paÅ”u ceļojumu:
- DevÄmies ceļojumÄ ar maŔīnu un kopÄ rezervÄjÄm 8 viesnÄ«cas/dzÄ«vokļus (praktiski katru vakaru pavadÄ«jÄm citÄ gala mÄrÄ·Ä«). Ceļojuma laikÄ Å”Ä·ÄrsojÄm tÄdas valstis kÄ Lietuva, Polija, Äehija, Austrija, ItÄlija, Å veice un VÄcija.
- Pirmais gala mÄrÄ·is bija VÄ«ne un ceÄ¼Ä lÄ«dz tai pavadÄ«jÄm ~18h (PolijÄ ir ļooooti daudzi ceļu remontdarbi ar kuriem nebijÄm rÄÄ·inÄjuÅ”ies un tur pazaudÄjÄm aptuveni 2h)
- PÄc tam sekoja VenÄcija – Verona – lauku mÄja ToskÄnÄ – Piza – Sestri Levante – Dženova – Å veices alpi – Europa park atrakciju parks – Frankfurte pie Mainas – BerlÄ«ne
In the first article from my trip I wanted to share with you Venice through my eyes and mention
10 tips that you might find useful if you are planning on visiting this beautiful and romantic Italian city in the future.
1. Visit at least one of the close by islands, for example, Burano
I so wish we would have had at least half a day which we could spend in the island of Burano as I've heard so, so many great reviews and seen so many gorgeous pictures from the island. If buildings in Venice are in more or less in grounded colours (browns, beiges for the most part), then you'll be amazed to see the colourful houses in Burano.
2. Don't buy souvenirs at the main tourist attractions as the price differs up to fives times from souvenirs shops anywhere further from the centre/main tourist sights.
3. If you are planning on staying in Venice for a night or more and you are not particularly keen on spending a fortune for all meals in cafes, restaurants,
think of buying food outside Venice (for example, on the mainland). We really struggled to find a grocery store in Venice and the one we found was half sold out and there were lines all to the back wall of the store. So even getting a bottle of water was a real challenge.
4. If you are planning on staying in Venice (the island), then I suggest you
start looking for a flat or hotel very early, especially if you are vacationing in summer. My suggestion would be to look for a place to stay at least three months before your arrival. Also another suggestion would be to choose a place that is further from the main tourist sights as that way you'll be able enjoy the real beauty of Venice and not get frustrated in overcrowded streets, cafes and restaurants. You even will be able to take beautiful pictures in the streets and bridges without being interrupted. And I cannot even express how lovely are evening walks in the almost empty streets of Venice + don't forget to have a nice picnic or a glass (or a bottle for that matter š) of wine on the little piers, bridges or stairs.
5. Maybe a cheaper alternative, but not as romantic is
to stay on the mainland, the small, close by islands or peninsula of Cavallino and travel to Venice either by bus, train or boat. Remember that you cannot drive around with a car in the island of Venice as there are roads only at the beginning of the island - to the port and parking lot, which is quite expensive - around 30 EUR for one day.
6. Do buy gelato! There are plenty of gelato places to choose from, but I can suggest
Stickhouse and
Gelatoteca Suso.
7. A great budget alternative for a tasty meal in Venice is to
have a takeaway pizza. There are pizzerias around almost every corner and they for sure a way cheaper alternative to the expensive restaurants!
8. Let Venice lure you into the small narrow streets and enjoy getting lost in them. Really, the true beauty of Venice can be found in those small streets or even bridges that lead to nowhere. We managed to see how local gondoliers dry their clothes (just like in the movies - from one window to the other š) or see how locals are coming home from work by their boats (I for sure sure saw some really interesting/animated moments! š)
9. Don't forget about GPS/navigation. If you are not particularly keen on getting lost or wandering Venice like I mentioned in my previous tip, don't forget about technology! Google Maps for sure saved us some time as we managed to get from point A to point B with getting lost only a couple of times instead of dozen š
10. If you are a romantic and want to take a ride in the charming Venetian gondola I suggest to do it in the day as the price for 30 min ride is 80 euros, whereas after 6 p.m. the cost for the same ride is from 100 euros and above. We decided not to splurge on a gondola ride since I kind of don't think it is really worth that much money as it for sure doesn't look half as romantic as it does in the movies š
PirmajÄ ierakstÄ no Ŕī ceļojuma vÄlÄjos parÄdÄ«t VenÄciju caur manÄm acÄ«m, kÄ arÄ« pieminÄt dažÄdus 10 ieteikumus, kuri iespÄjams Tev bÅ«s noderÄ«gi, ja nÄkotnÄ plÄno apmeklÄt Å”o valdzinoÅ”o ItÄlijas pilsÄtu.
1. ApmeklÄ kÄdu no mazajÄm VenÄcijas saliÅÄm, piemÄram, Burano
Es vÄlos kaut mums bÅ«tu bijusi vÄl pus diena, kuru veltÄ«t netÄlu esoÅ”ajÄ Burano saliÅÄ, jo esmu redzÄjusi tik daudz fantastisku bilžu un iespaidu no Ŕīs salas! Ja arhitektÅ«ra VenÄcija ir ieturÄta +/- piezemÄtos, brÅ«nganos toÅos, tad Å”ajÄ salÄ redzÄsi visas iespÄjamÄs varavÄ«ksnes krÄsas.
2. NepÄrc suvenÄ«rus pie paÅ”iem galvenajiem tÅ«ristu apskates objektiem, jo cenas par vienu un to paÅ”u lietu atŔķirsies lÄ«dz pat piecÄm reizÄm!
3. Ja VenÄcijÄ nakÅ”Åo vienu vai vairÄkas naktis un nav plÄnots visas Ädienreizes ieturÄt Ärpus viesnÄ«cas/dzÄ«vokļa, iepriekÅ” apdomÄ pÄrtikas iegÄdi Ärpus VenÄcijas, jo paÅ”Ä VenÄcijÄ pÄrtikas veikalu ir ļoti maz. MÄs ar pÅ«lÄm atradÄm vienu mazu veikaliÅu, kas bija pa pusei izpirkts (knapi dabÅ«jÄm pudeli Å«dens) un rindas pie kasÄm bija lÄ«dz veikala otram galam.
4. Ja plÄno nakÅ”Åot paÅ”Ä VenÄcijas salÄ tad iesaku skatÄ«ties viesnÄ«cu dzÄ«vokli ļoti laicÄ«gi vismaz 3 mÄneÅ”us pirms palikÅ”anas (vasaras mÄneÅ”os), kÄ arÄ« iesaku izvÄlÄties naktsvietu tÄlÄk no VenÄcijas centra, jo tÄdÄ veidÄ izdosies izbaudÄ«t Ä«sto VenÄcijas burvÄ«bu – nepÄrdrÅ«zmÄtas, lÄtÄkas kafejnÄ«cas un restorÄnus; tukÅ”Äkas ieliÅas un tiltus – varÄsi uztaisÄ«t skaistas bildes, kurÄs bÅ«si tikai viens pats, bez ierastajÄm tÅ«ristu masÄm š un izbaudÄ«t jaukas, vakara pastaigas pa mierÄ«go VenÄciju un, piemÄram, ieturÄt mazu pikniku pie kÄdas no laivu piestÄtnÄ«tÄm vai tiltiÅiem.
5. IespÄjams lÄtÄks risinÄjums bÅ«tu palikt VenÄcijÄ ItÄlijas daÄ¼Ä (mainland), kÄdÄ no mazajÄm VenÄcijai tuvumÄ esoÅ”ajÄm salÄm, vai arÄ« pussalÄ Cavallini un uz paÅ”u VenÄcijas sirdi doties ar autobusu, vilcienu vai kuģīti, jo VenÄcijÄ ar maŔīnu iebraukt var ļoti minimÄli un stÄvvietas maksa, ja nemaldos bija tuvu pie 30 EUR par diennakti.
6. Noteikti nopÄrc saldÄjumu – gelato vietas bija gandrÄ«z uz katra stÅ«ra, bet ieteikt varu Stickhouse un Gelatoteca Suso.
7. Lielisks budžeta risinÄjums vakariÅÄm (maltÄ«te VenÄcijas restorÄnÄ bÅ«s diezgan sÄlÄ«ta, pat tÄdos, kas atrodas tÄlÄk no VenÄcijas centra) ir takeaway picas, jo picÄrijas arÄ« ir gandrÄ«z uz katra stÅ«ra.
8. Ä»aujies VenÄcijas Å”auro ielu burvÄ«bai un nebaidies arÄ« apmaldÄ«ties. PiemÄram, Å”ÄdÄ veidÄ iemaldÄ«jÄmies kÄdÄ ieliÅÄ, kurÄ redzÄju kÄ gondolieri žÄvÄ savu veļu (tieÅ”i kÄ rÄda filmÄs – no viena loga lÄ«dz otram š), vai arÄ« kÄ vietÄjie iedzÄ«votÄji vakaros brauc mÄjÄs ar savÄm laivÄm (dažbrÄ«d redzami bija visai kolorÄ«ti skati).
9. Neaizmirsti par GPS/navigÄciju. VenÄcijÄ ir ļoti, ļoti daudz mazu ieliÅu, bet, ja Tev tomÄr negribas apmaldÄ«ties tajÄs (kÄ rakstÄ«ju iepriekÅ”ÄjÄ punktÄ), tad noteikti iesaku izmantot kÄdu no navigÄcijas ierÄ«cÄm/aplikÄcijÄm. Par cik EEZ valstÄ«s interneta lietoÅ”anas nosacÄ«jumiem tagad ir daudz reiz draudzÄ«gÄks tarifs, tad Google Maps noteikti ļoti nÄca talkÄ.
10. Ja nu Tev gribas izbraukt ar gondolu, tad iesaku to darÄ«t dienas pirmajÄ pusÄ, jo tad to ir iespÄjams izdarÄ«t lÄtÄk. Cik ievÄroju tad vakaros 30 minÅ«Å”u brauciens izmaksÄ 100 EUR, savukÄrt pa dienu lÄ«dz plkst. seÅ”iem tie bija 80 EUR. Mani personÄ«gi Å”Äds izbrauciens Ä«sti nevilinÄja, jo, no romantikas un VenÄcijas Å”arma tur ir diezgan tÄlu, un, manuprÄt, Ŕī summa nav Ä«sti adekvÄta piedÄvÄjumam.
Espadrilles - Zara
