For starters: when it’s 30°C and more, it can be quite tiring to begin with, no matter what activity you pursue. Visiting Venezia (or any other bigger city in the middle of the summer) is definitely not just a walk in the park. But no complaints ;)
Entering the city from Piazzale Roma you basically float with the masses of tourists through one of the main roads that lead you from one touristy shop to another. As we just planned one day for Venice and roughly had the goals Biennale and walking around we went with the general flow first. However, quite soon we grew tired of it and started to shift or direction away from the main trail.
There you enter the maze of Venice. Lots of small alleys (sometimes so tiny just two people fit through), colors, unexpected turns and interesting scenes and settings. For example, the Veneziani often have very special doors, mail boxes and door bells. And, of course, you see lots of scenes with boats skillfully maneuvered through the narrow canals.
The main sights are, again as in most cases, a bit disappointing. The Rialto bridge is just packed with tourists and shops and everybody wants to take a picture. I think it’s kind of like the Eiffel Tower – nice to see from a safe distance, but you don’t really want to be right there.
As an espresso fanatic I was a bit disappointed: I had two during the day and both were mediocre. However, as usually in Italy, they cost just about 1 € – much better to get an espresso and use the toilet in the café than to go on the public toilet for which they currently charge 1,50 €.
