A Venetian Venture; Venice in Two Days.

'We'll give it a shot' .....

Not the greatest thing to hear your pilot say as you circle above a large bank of fog in a Ryanair plane doing more shakes than a 19 year old student on the dancefloor of Copperface Jacks. But this was what we faced as we flew into a Venetian airport, anxious for our Italian adventure. Two weeks previously we were sitting in our sitting rooms moaning about our niggling travel bug, and there we were, thinking of pizza and pasta, praying the 'shot' would be accurate. You can assume from my presence from behind the keyboard that it was accurate enough.

Two hours later and a bit of directional help from some friendly locals, we found ourselves booked into our hotel and sitting on a local bus into Venice.

Tip #1 for Venice; Stay on the mainland rather than the island. Much cheaper, it has some lovely places for a coffee and pastry breakfast, and its easy to access the island on local buses (buy your ticket in local newsagents BEFORE getting on the bus. It only costs about €1.20 one way).

Venice was more his city than mine, and I wasn't really bothered seeing it as I had heard some stinky stories in regards to the city, but I was captivated from the moment I stepped over the bridge. Its full of clean, old, leaning architecture towering over little cobbled streets. Everywhere you turn it leads you more into the mazes of hidden piazzas filled with little cafes, gelataries and little churches filled with the most amazing paintings. The quiet is so peaceful as there is no traffic, only quit gondolas accompanied by the odd singer with his love songs. The place is full of Italian character, and wine, lets not forget the wine!

We started off our two days with a gorgeous pizza for €6.50 (average enough price for Italy), followed by an exploratory stroll where we came across the Chiesa di San Rocco, the Basilica di San Marco and numerous antique shops full of old first edition books and maps. Also wherever you turn you find little local shops run by local artists who make the traditional venetian masks worn through the annual 'Carnival of Venice'. Very 'Phantom of the Opera'. Bloody Ryanair hand luggage allowance! I would have brought the lot home!

We moved on to a dinner at a restaurant on the main canal ...

Tip #2; the restaurants on the canal are nice and romantic, but the service doesn't seem to be as good as the other little pizzerias on the side streets. Oh and ...

Tip #3. If you say 'grazie' when you hand over money and you expect change, you wont get it. Saying thank you means 'keep the change'. Nightmare when you hand a 50 for a dinner worth 16 euro. Just say nothing and tip after. Much easier.

The next morning, after a coffee and pastry breakfast for no more than €2 in the local café, we headed back into the city to explore the lesser touristy area of the Jewish ghetto. This area is made most famous, as many nerdy English lovers would know, from Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice'. This area was where the Jewish population were forced to live from the mid 1500's, and its still very community based, with quiet squares which see local jewish men discussing the daily goings on and old women sweeping out their houses and hanging out their clothes. The perfect escape from the bustle of the tourist squares, and great for lovers of photography.

We spent the day strolling around the city, eating and people watching, exploring the various little churches, and we ended up on the opposite side of the city looking out across the sea to the Palazza Ducale. Around here we found lovely artists selling their paintings, and it is the perfect place to find nice little pieces to put on the walls at home when you returned to the bleak. We finished off the trip with a gondola ride (a bit pricey at €80 a gondola, but worth it. Can't go to Venice without a gondola ride) where we had a nice tour through the little canals with a singing gondola man, stripy top, hat and all. We found a nice piazza to have gorgeous pasta in while the sun set (a little place called Taverna Dally. Lovely service and food) and then had some incredibly cheap drinks at our hotel.

Tip #4; stick to the hotel for alcohol. €1.80 for a glass of wine!

And finally,

Tip #5. Promise yourself a trip back to Venice. Magic isn't the word.

Slán.