With camper to Italy: Venice
What it's like to go back to Venice 9 years later, what are our impressions of the city after already many cities toured around Europe and beyond, and what it's like to spend the night at a castle, read in the next part of our camper trip to the Western Balkans and Italy.
To the previous travelogue –> Day 12: Beaches off Ancona and San Marino
More information about the route, costs and all travelogues of the trip can be found HERE.
Day 13: San Marino - Venice - 280 km. ( 4:00 AM)
From the wonderful Mini country of San Marino, we set off directly in the opposite direction to Bulgaria. After so many experiences during this camper adventure, it was time to go home. We had planned the return to take place for 3 days so that we would not have to take the entire Juruzh path. By that point we had already lost one debit card and blocked another credit card. When we went to Venice at a gas station, we entered the wrong PIN on a third card twice and decided not to risk it anymore.
So at one point we ended up with only 200 BGN cash, with which we had to somehow return to Bulgaria. This naturally could not have happened (even the fuel cost us at least 2 times more), so we had to urgently call relatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina to send us money on our only remaining card, but there was absolutely nothing in it...
Venice for the second time
We only drove on highways to Venice, where we decided it was time to rest, so we entered the city of gondolas to show it to our children as well, since we had only visited the two of us 9 years ago. That's why in this travelogue you will find photos from both of our visits - June 2010 and July 2019. In 2010, I remember that I was 2-3 months pregnant and I constantly wanted to go to the toilet, and the toilets in Venice then cost 1 euro each. Probably at least 50 euros went only to toilets then 🙂
The parking lot we stopped at this time was located in a residential peaceful neighborhood of Marghera - this is the city that is right next to Venice, on mainland Italy. The parking was completely free, it had shade trees and garbage containers. Its coordinates are:
45.471859 12.225722
N 45°28'18.69″E 12°13'32.59″
Since the parking lot is quite far from Venice, we had to get on a bus. Okay, but we messed up the bus number and ended up in a completely different place. From there we already took the right bus through which we crossed the bridge and stopped at the bus station in Venice. Too bad we lost precious time.
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There was, of course, a full house. crowds of tourists everywhere. Various negroes were selling souvenirs. Japanese women with umbrellas against the sun. Chinese people with large devices. Passing gondolas and water taxis. Port with ships to the neighboring islands - Murano, Burano and Lido. Hundreds of selfie sticks in the air trying to capture the best photo of their owners.
Walking through the narrow streets and canals of Venice, I realized how inhospitable and abandoned she already looks compared to many of the cities we had visited during our camper adventure. Mulled walls, fallen facades, crumbled plasters - these are just some of the details that made an impression on us. Interestingly, both last time and this time, the canals in Venice did not smell, despite the claims of some tourists.
Here is a short list of the main attractions in Venice:
The Big Canal (Canale Grande)
This is the great canal that crosses all of Venice. It is about 4 km long. and has different widths in its different sections. It is an average of 5 m deep and in the other it was used to unload the large cargo ships that go into the city and deliver their goods directly to the warehouses in the merchants' homes.
At the moment, the Great Canal can be crossed in several ways - by one of the four bridges ("Rialto Bridge", "The Bridge of the Barefoot", "The Bridge of the Academy" and "The Bridge of the Constitution"), or by public transport - with Vaporetti, with Water taxi or gondolas.
Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto)
The Rialto Bridge is the oldest bridge in Venice and was completed in its current form in 1591. For nearly 260 years, it was the only solid land connection between the two banks of the Grand Canal.
Piazza San Marco Square
The basilica of the same name, the basilica of the same name, the doge's palace and the clock tower are located on the square of San Marco. The square is the largest open space in all of Venice. It contrasts strongly with the narrow streets and canals that cover the entire city. The square is also known for the large number of pigeons that delight tourists. There are people who give various seeds for 1-2 euros to feed the pigeons, but this is prohibited and you can get a fine.
San Marco Basilica
It is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in summer and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in winter. Current information can be found here. Entry to the basilica is free, as you have to wait your turn in a long long queue, and going up to the bell tower across the street is paid for around 10 euros per person.
Doge's Palace
Doge's Palace is undoubtedly the most impressive building in Venice, Italy. Over the years, the building has performed three main roles - the Doge's Palace, the seat of the government and the Courthouse. The opening hours are from 8:30 to 21:00 in the summer and from 8:30 to 19:00 in the winter. The ticket costs 25 euros for adults, 13 euros for children aged 6-14. and for young people aged 15-25, and for children under 5 years of age - free of charge. Current information here.
The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri)
The Bridge of Sighs is a covered bridge made of white limestone. The bridge has small windows with stone bars. He links the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. The bridge is so named because those sentenced to death passed through it before their sentence was carried out.
The islands of Murano and Burano
Murano is the island of the popular Venetian glass. All glass factories are located there. Burano is the island of knitted lace and brightly colored houses.
In the meantime, we sat in a pizzeria where we got Guess what - pizza! At least the children had nothing to complain about - they love pizza and ate it with pleasure 🙂
Then we continued with the walk. We took pictures on various bridges and canals, as well as in St. Mark's Square. We realized that Venice was far from being as small to see as it seemed on the map - we were already quite up.
–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Venice at a discount. See HERE!
Venice - Otochets (Slovenia) - 300 km. ( 4:00 AM)
We returned back by bus to the camper and continued returning to Bulgaria. Our idea was to drive as much as possible tonight so that we could go most of the way back while the kids were sleeping. We left Italy, entered Slovenia, passed the capital Ljubljana, and finally, half asleep, we parked in Otochets. We found this parking lot at the last minute when we no longer had the strength to drive and we just had to stop somewhere to spend the night. His coordinates are
45.83902 15.233915
N 45°50'20.47″ E 15°14'2.09″
It was a complete dark when we parked, so we didn't know exactly where we were. Be sure to read the next part of the travelogue.
To the next travelogue —-> Day 14: Otocec Fortress in Slovenia
And here's where you read about our first visit to Venice - Travelogue for Venice
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