Our first ever roadtrip outside of the UAE was in Italy. From Venice to the Dolomites, Dolomites to Tuscany, Tuscany to Cinque Terre, and Cinque Terre to Milan.

Lucky I wasn’t driving then…poor boyfie he had to endure the long drives. Nonetheless, it was an awesome, fun trip.

view from the Rialto Bridge

From Abu Dhabi, our flight took us to Milan and from there we took the train to Venice. Lovely, quaint Venice. My ultimate goal in Venice was to ride the Gondola! I even made a deal with my boyfriend that I’ll wake up to every sunrise he wants during the whole trip! Photos are best taken during this time when the light is not harsh, as well as in sunsets. Beautiful, dramatic hues.

We spent 3 days in Venice, shoot at Sunrise (yes, I did woke up 2 mornings to shoot for the sunrise. I’m determined to ride that thing!), shoot at sunset, enjoy walking around the city, photos and selfies in every corner, pizza and lots of pizza! And, Gelato, of course! Venice is just so beautiful. I don’t think I can ever get enough of it. It’s a place you would love to visit every time you get the chance.

The Gondolas

Here are my top tips in case you intend to visit Venice:

  1. Try the gondola at least once in your life – it was 80 euros for 30-40 minutes ride, which will take you to small alleys and to the Grand Canal. Probably the best time to ride is just before sunset so you will get good lighting especially once you reach the grand canal.
  2. Wake up early to catch the sunrise and head to Academia Bridge.
  3. Sunset is best seen from the Rialto Bridge or at the rooftop of Il-fondaco-dei-tedeschi.
  4. If you’re on a budget, avoid restaurants near tourist spots. Try those in smaller alleys, they offer good, yummy food too. Or just settle for pizza and gelato.
  5. Make a really good research of the hotel before finalizing the booking. The hotel we happened to book with, wasn’t good at all – the owner doesn’t speak English, he’s always out / unavailable, we had a hard time looking for our hotel, and no heater in the shower and no hair dryer!
  6. Try to ride the ferry to go from one place to the other – ex. From Rialto to San Marco. Riding the ferry offers you a chance to see other spots in Venice at the same time, skip the long walk. Remember, Venice has hundreds of small bridges, crossing the bridge use up energy. So unless you’re really up for it, then walk (ha ha!) sometimes, you just wanna sit back, relax and enjoy.
  7. Check the weather. This will help you plan what clothes to bring. Never expect a sunny weather when Accuweather is showing you it’ll be rainy during your trip. It may not be exactly raining but it won’t be sunny either. Either way, double check the weather conditions before your trip.

Venice Italy

These sum up pretty much all of it based on my own personal experience.

Next blog coming up, Misurina and Dolomites… Feel free to check out my photos in Italy here…

Stay tuned!

Xoxo,

chris