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Report 1684: Four Weeks in Venice

By Nancy McM from California, Spring 2009

Trip Description: For each of the past five years Ray and Nancy have rented an apartment for a month on the Grand Canal in Venice.

Destinations: Countries - Italy; Regions/Cities - Venice

Categories: Vacation Rentals; Sightseeing; Independent Travel; 2 People

Page 1 of 27: Friday, March 20, We're Finally in Venice

In 2003, Ray and I traveled to Italy and celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Our last stop was Venice and after five days of wandering about, we decided that we really needed a month to explore this magical city. That was in October. Five months later, thanks to Slow Travel’s trip reports, and especially Ruth [aka Boleskine], we had found the perfect apartment and were booked for four weeks. That month was all that we hoped for and we had a wonderful time. March of 2009 found us spending a month in Venice for the fifth time, always in the same apartment. We never tire of the Grand Canal view from our living room windows.

After a very long journey from Los Angeles we loaded ourselves into a water taxi at the Venice airport and soon entered the city through the Grand Canal. The ride to our apartment is always a thrill. It feels as though we have stepped into another world ... and indeed we have!

Predrag, the owner’s representative, was waiting as we slid up to the new dock. The apartment was spotless. During the high tide in December, about 3cm of water came into the living room. Not enough to do much damage, but the carpet had been cleaned and all the drapes and bed-curtains were fresh and starched.

After a nice visit with Predrag, we walked over to Campo Santa Margarita for necessary odds and ends at the little variety store. It is like a miniature K Mart, with everything you can imagine: school supplies, cosmetics, kitchen implements, cleaning supplies, underwear, and even flowerpots! We bought wine glasses and then some necessary food items at the food market across the square. Our final stop was the wine shop. The wine isn’t the best, but it is drinkable and really fun to watch the owner siphon wine into our plastic water bottle from his big five gallon jug.

Dinner was at Trattoria San Toma where we were greeted as old friends with handshakes and air kisses. We shared a salad and then wolfed down a delicious soup, full of shrimp, mussels, and all sorts of sea-goodies. It was a perfect meal for a cold and windy evening in Venice.