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We headed to Venice {Venezia} after Prague. Our plan in Venice was just to relax – we had no itinerary, planned activities or a list of must sees and eats {shocker!}. Venice is a town literally on water. Locals don’t live in Venice because it’s so expensive; everything has to be transported in by boat. It’s the only mean of transportation – there are no bikes or cars in Venice! Venice is about being outside. It’s like an expanded open outdoor mall with tons of small boutique and cafes/bars. The alleys are so narrow and fortunately, the canals did not leave any trails of smelly air during our time there {but I heard during the summer months, the smell is very strong}. The thing to do in Venice {or anywhere in Italy, really} is to sit outside in the patio at the cafes to sip on espresso, smoke cigarettes after cigarettes {this we did not do}, while people watching.

+ about Venice – best part of our stay was the location of our hotel which made our short trip manageable {we didn’t have to roll our bags up and down stairs, canal bridges, etc}. One of the taxi stops was literally right across from the hotel we were staying at. We stayed very close to St. Mark’s Basilica and Square. I loved the laid-back feeling of Venice. The only sit-down meal we had was for lunch when we first got into Venice. The rest of our meals consisted of hopping from bar to cafes to get bites of bruschetta, sandwiches and pizza while sipping on wine, spritz, and espresso {yes, in that order lol}. I become obsessed with spritz! We had the best tuna sandwiches! Italians drink their espresso like water which I absolutely love because it doesn’t make me feel guilty for consuming so much caffeine! The boat ride to Venice was quite interesting and the experience to get around by boat was different.

- about Venice – way too touristy. Wasn’t too impressed with their seafood selection but Venice is known for its fresh seafood. There were too many birds at St. Mark’s square, actually everywhere! The pigeons are overweight because people keep feeding them, no wonder they are everywhere! Because the only means of transportation is by water taxi, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the train station. We missed our train but thankfully they had trains going to Florence every hour! Don’t expect great service. Also, on a side note, we did a gondola tour at night thinking it’ll be “romantic”. But quite honestly, it was so dark, you could barely see half of the sights! I recommend doing this early in the day. But beware, it’s going to be a traffic jam mayhem!

THE LOGISTICS:

• How we got to Venice from Prague: Plane booked on Orbitz
• How we got to the hotel from the airport: We took a public boat service {the dock is a long walk from the airport exit + you can buy your tickets right at the dock}
• Where we stayed in Venice: Savoia & Jolanda Hotel {best part of this hotel is the location + loved the decor {beautiful luxe fabrics, made me feel like I was really in Italy!}
• Location is everything: Stay near St. Mark’s Square and the waterfront by the taxi/boat ports
• Number of days we stayed in Venice: 2 days, 1 night {recommend: 2-3 full days}
• What to consider: Tour neighboring islands, ride the gondola during the day {book the tour through your hotel concierge}, carry cash to pay for souvenirs and snacks {if you plan on pub/cafe crawling}

VENICE // MUST SEES {Places to Visit}

1, 3// Walk around the town, stop at various bars to get a drink + snacks, soak in the culture and the relaxed atmosphere
2// St. Marks Square {visit the basilica, sit in the patio of one of the cafes and people watch, admire the overweight pigeons}
4// Souvenir shopping {I don’t really buy souvenirs/trinkets other than artwork, postcards, and food but I had to get the amazing masks!}

VENICE // MUST EATS {Good Eateries!}

1// Gelato {hello, you’re in Italy!}
2// Seafood
3// Spritz {and then get an espresso on your way out!}
4// Best tuna sandwiches at this bar

Overall, we enjoyed our short trip to Venice. It was certainly care-free traveling {sometimes not having a plan is the best thing}. We loved hanging out at the cafes/bars, standing around munching on antipastas and sipping on spritz.

If you want a short getaway, Venice would be a great place to visit. We stayed here for only 1.5 days {one night} and it was plenty. The town is very small. Stay longer if you want to visit the nearby islands.

{Photos by Tiffany Nguyen}

Not sure how I feel about Prague. As soon as we got into the center of town, we were surprised by the amount of tourists {it’s almost as worse as Venice!} flocking the pebbled streets. Prague still has a lot of catching up to do {catching up with modern times} and you can’t blame them. The country came out of communist control in the late 80’s/early 90’s. We spent a day in Terezin {built by Emperor Joseph II in the late 18th century to protect the Czech lands from the Prussians}, one of the Nazi concentration camps used for propaganda to trick the world {Red Cross} that the Nazi built this “beautification” community for the Jews. But it was really used as a transportation center to deport the Jews to Auschwitz and Treblinka death camps to be murdered. It was a somber experience.

+ about Prague – probably by far the city with the most beautiful architecture; our segway tour {you never want to do any other tour after this!} – quite honestly, it’s THE way to tour the city. The town is very hilly {almost like San Francisco} so having the electric motor go up hills was an untiring, exhilarating experience. And the Czechs got their potato dishes down!

- about Prague – overall, the food wasn’t spectacular {if you like your heavy starch – potatoes, you’d probably enjoy the food}. The bf calls it food for people living in the cold! It’s extremely hilly and lots of pebbled streets, so wear very comfortable tennis shoes. It’s full of tourists. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like during the summer months! Old town, old culture, old ways of thinking and doing business.

THE LOGISTICS:

• How we got to Prague from Vienna: The Train
• How we got to the hotel from the train station: We hiked up the pebble stone hill to get to the hotel with bags in tow {worse idea ever! i highly recommend hailing a cab, even if your hotel is only a few blocks away from the train station.}
• Where we stayed in Prague: Sax Vintage Design Hotel {the downside of this hotel is that it’s located up a hill so walking to the hotel can be painful at times; overall, i would have chosen another hotel but i do like their breakfast + it’s only walking distance to the Prague castle with amazing views of the town.}
• Location is everything: I recommend staying near the train station or the town square.
• Number of days we stayed in Prague: 2 days, 2 night {recommend: 2 full days}
• What to consider: Take a tour of Prague on a segway {best idea ever!}! You will thank me later.

PRAGUE // MUST SEES {Places to Visit}

1, 2, 3// Prague Castle + St. Vitus Cathedral {we took a hike up the hill from our hotel to get an awesome view of the city, everything closed early so we didn’t get to go inside the castle/cathedral}
4// Old Town Squre {where you can shop for souvenirs, soak up the atmosphere over a coffee or a cool beer at one of the cafes lining the square}
5// Tour the City on a Segway {one of the stops is coasting along the Vltava River + on the Charles Bridge}
6// Love Locks {a symbol of love throughout Europe, love locks along the canal near the Charles Bridge in Prague’s Mala Strana}
7// Lennon Wall {awesome photo backdrop}

PRAGUE // MUST EATS {Good Eateries!}

1// Complimentary Guest Breakfast @ Sax Vintage Design Hotel {delicious pastries!}
2 + 4// Mlejnice {we stopped here for beer, potatoes + meat}
3// Sklep {more beer + meat}

Touring Prague on a segway made the short visit to Prague enjoyable. I appreciated the architecture but as for the food, I wasn’t satisfied. Maybe it because the Vienna raised the bar pretty high.

{Photos by Tiffany Nguyen}