Two Magical Days in Venice
A Mediterranean Cruise and Four Days in Ireland
Introduction
Planning
US Airways Business Class (Envoy) Philadelphia to Venice
Two Magical Days in Venice
Boscolo Venezia Hotel in Venice
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Introduction, Itinerary, and the Pinnacle Suite
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Katakolon and Athens
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Istanbul, Mitilini, and Kusadasi
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Santorini and Argostoli
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Sailing into Venice
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Cruise Review
Ryanair Economy Class Venice-Treviso to Dublin
Two Days in Dublin
The Aran Islands and Galway, Ireland
Driving the West Coast of County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher, and Bunratty Meadows B&B
Aer Lingus 757 Business Class Shannon to Boston
We met my Aunt and Uncle just past customs at Venice’s Marco Polo International Airport about twenty minutes after we arrived. Due to the location of our hotel in the Cannaregio neighborhood, the Orto Stop on the Alilaguna was by far the easiest location to access. This happens to be the first stop on the Venice’s Alilaguna Orange Line, and cost €15 per person for the 30 minute boat ride.
From the Orto stop, it was a short, three-minute walk to the Boscolo Venezia Hotel. Upon check-in, we were informed that our rooms would not be ready untl 2pm, so we stored our bags at the front desk and headed out to explore Venice.
The Boscolo Venezia is located in the quiet Cannaregio neighborhood – about a 20 minute walk from the crowds of the Realto and San Marco Square areas. We walked around the streets and canals of Venice before stopping for lunch near San Marco Square. We settled on a restaurant with a nice courtyard where we enjoyed pizza and beer – both of which were excellent.
After lunch, the rain started to come down, so we walked back to our hotel. Upon returning to the hotel, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were upgraded to a set of two garden villa rooms. The rooms were standard sized, but they each featured massive courtyards situated in a secluded rose garden away from the main building of the hotel. Jet-lagged from the night before, we took a three hour nap before having a nice happy hour out on our patio of the Boscolo Venezia. We had a tasty dinner of pasta and seafood at a local place in Cannaregio– Ristorante Diana and then retired for the evening for some much needed sleep.
After a good ten hours of sleep, we woke up to a fantastic breakfast spread at the Boscolo, which was free due to my Marriott Gold status. The Boscolo runs water taxis four times per day to and from San Marco Square, so we took the 10am taxi through the canals of Venice right to the front steps of St Marks. After taking in the sights and sounds of the San Marco, we proceeded to one of Venice’s most exclusive hotels, The Gritti Palace for a drink on its back patio overlooking the Grand Canal. What a spectacular way to spend the afternoon!
We followed this up with another (expensive / overpriced) drink at a Bar Gelateria Al Todoro, which was on the water near St. Marco Square. At that point, we were ready for a late lunch, so we lost ourselves in the winding alleyways of Venice and found ourselves at Ristorante Alla Conchiglia, a cute little restaurant overlooking a canal for a quintessential Venetian lunch of calamari, pizza, wine and beer. Later in the day, I stopped for about 45 minutes to watch the world go by in a nice plaza near the Rialto Bridge while my girlfriend shopped in some of the great boutiques. We took a nice, afternoon stroll back to the hotel to have a continued happy hour on our wonderful patio at the Boscolo. Later on that evening, we took a short walk to a local seafood restaurant for an excellent dinner at Ostaria da Rioba.
After another glorious night of sleep, we awoke to a rainy Venice morning – and it was cruise day! We packed all our things after a short breakfast and met a water taxi at the Boscolo pier on the Lagoa just a few feet away from our room. In less than twenty minutes, we were at the Cruise Ship Terminal ready to board our cruise on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam.
Thoughts on Venice…
I absolutely loved Venice. It’s such a magical city. It’s the only city that I can think that is purely a pedestrian city (with the exception of the boats and gondolas in the canals). We thoroughly enjoyed just losing ourselves in the winding streets and alley-ways of the city, sampling the incredible Italian cuisine, and taking in some of the sights in one of the most picturesque cities you’ll find anywhere.
