Wandering Venice : A D.I.Y. Walking Tour

Venice, without a doubt, is the most picturesque place I’ve ever been. The romance, the beauty of its unique setting, its architecture, and the old world feel you see it in movies and on TV, makes this city even more interesting. Every corner and turn in this city are layers and layers of beautiful subjects, making Venice a street photographer’s dream surrounding.

venice2015josemanuel12 — My favourite shot of Venice., taken near the Rialto Bridge

Sited on a group of small islands separated by canals and linked by foot bridges, the city in its whole is listed as a World Heritage Site. Before arriving in Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia from Milan, I already prepared myself for a lot of walking, as I’ve read that there are no taxis or public buses on the Islands. Venice does have water buses circulating the islands for convenience, but the maze like street set up of the city is just too interesting not to conquer. Streets of Venice were never planned to be on grid and orderly manner. And true enough the twist and turns of the streets got me lost in finding my hostel, and took more than two hours of my time. Even google map wasn’t able to clearly list every turns of the city. Nonetheless, walking (or more like wandering) in Venice was the best part of my two days stay, as you get to see experience all the randomness and interesting things of this unique city.

venice2015josemanuel25 — An aerial view of Maze like Venice. The street names are only either painted or embossed on the first building of the block, and every block has unlabelled walkways and footbridges, making navigation even more complicated. Complicated, isn’t it?

Anyways here is how I spent my two days in Venice. No itinerary at all. I only had Piazza San Marco in mind and eat good pizza. Still, it was a well spent stop in Italy. My favourite two days, in fact. =)

Since the streets of Venice get complicated, I take the riverside route every time I can. It is easier to navigate from there.

venice2015josemanuel16 — San Marco Square is the city’s main Piazza. St. Mark’s Cathedral at the background

venice2015josemanuel17 — The Piazza Campanile.

Who wouldn’t fall in love with these views? Going up the Campanile for 9 Euro was super worth the money. I recommend really everyone to do this. Skip the peak of Vatican or Milan, reserve your money for this view.

venice2015josemanuel23 — The south view of the Piazza

venice2015josemanuel26 — A view of the port for inter island waterbuses

venice2015josemanuel22 — A view of nearby Islands

venice2015josemanuel27 — A view of nearby Islands

“Experiencing Venice as a solo backpacker is best done on foot. Skip the expensive gondola ride, pang mag jowa lang un. Corny pag single at alone.” – Josemanuel . lol

Anyways, more street scenes here … =)

venice2015josemanuel33 — randomly found this quaint bookstore with lots of crazy finds in it.

venice2015josemanuel34 — Inside the bookstore

More street shots here =)

venice2015josemanuel37 — Apron for sale. lol

venice2015josemanuel46 — Sakit na ulo ni ate. Zzzzzzz

venice2015josemanuel36 — Cute Doorbell buttons

venice2015josemanuel42 — Alone din si Ate. laban !

venice2015josemanuel45 — Walking around Venice will never be boring. The streets are lined with vibrant contrasting layers such as this corner.

venice2015josemanuel50-1 — An interesting shop mannequin

venice2015josemanuel48 — A Random street painter, a usual sight in Europe.

Food Trip :

Pizza Slices are super huge at 3 Euro (150 pesos) per slice.

DSC02284_Fotor — Vegetarian pizza with ricotta cheese. 4.5 Euro (225 pesos) per slice

venice2015josemanuel49-1 — Gelatto is a bit expensive. 2 scoops 3 Euro (150 pesos)

venice2015josemanuel43 — The slice is actually bigger than my face ! for 3 Euro (150 pesos, sobrang busog na!)

venice2015josemanuel41 — Coffee can be a bit pricey anywhere in Italy. These dispensers are good to go in the morning (just 1.5 Euro/ 75 pesos per cup). Reserve your money for better coffee in the afternoon when you can make padisplay sa cafe.

venice2015josemanuel40 — Very cute how they keep the cherries cool

venice2015josemanuel29 — Pasta is expensive in Italy. This cup of pesto pasta is at 7 euro (350 pesos) . I never found any pasta there lower than 5 Euro. kaya madalas ako pa pizza pizza lang. lol

As for my accommodation, I stayed for two nights at Astoria Hostel in Via Faenza (near Piazza San Marco). A bed in a shared room was at 1300 pesos plus 5 Euro city Tax. Its the cheapest I’ve found in Venice that is near a Piazza, making it easier to find. I booked this through Agoda.