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Cicchetti


Canals, bridges, and gondolas… that’s right, we’re in Venice! Yesterday we arrived by train to this beautiful city.
First views of Venice

We took the Vaporetto (a little water bus) towards our hostel. This meant that our first views of Venice were from the water… just as the city was meant to be seen.
Views from the water!

After checking in, we spent the afternoon walking over bridges, finding cute shops, and getting tasty treats. 


We came accross Liberia Acqua Alta, which claims to be the most beautiful bookstore in the world. It was very quaint, full of old and new books…. And some adorable resident cats! But I will say that Livraria Lello in Porto certainly has my vote as the most beautiful bookstore in the world. 
Bookstore cat

Continuing to wander, we saw ton’s of beautiful buildings… Venice just has so much history it’s impossible to describe it all.



We had a bit of an interesting moment in the evening, as we realized that Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was in Venice for his wedding. Both Liam and I swear that we saw him drive by in a boat flanked by police and paparazzi. Either way, we googled where the evenings celebrations were to be held and walked to the church where his rehearsal dinner was to be held, in hopes of seeing some celebrities. 
Trying to get a peek of the high-security celebrations

There was a large police presence, but not a huge crowd. This wedding is a hot topic in Venice as there is strong opposition from some locals, but approval from others. Either way it felt cool to be there.

——

On a less controversial note, something that is very important to mention about Venice are Venetian Cicchetti. These are little appetizer/snacks that are typical to Venice and that can only be found in Venice. Essentially, they’re small two-bite open faced sandwiches topped with fun and creative toppings. Commonly, they’re served with an Aperol Spritz, a popular cocktail that was actually invented in Venice!
Aperol Spritz with cicchetti

Pumpkin-mushroom and salmon cheese cicchetti

Tuna with cacao, whipped cod with garlic, and prosciutto cream cicchetti

So far we’ve tried several cicchetti including baccalà mantecato (a whipped salted cod spread), conserved peppers on burrata, pumpkin with mushroom sauce, salmon and cream cheese, cod with garlic, prosciutto mousse (just for Liam), and tuna tartar with unsweetened cacao powder.

These little snacks have fuelled our adventures through the city. Today the famous landmarks we saw were the Rialto Bridge and St. Marks Square. In between finding these popular spots, we enjoyed stumbling upon the hidden gems of Venice. 
View of St. Mark’s Basilica

We found CA’ MACANA, one of the oldest and most famous mask shops in Venice. 
Incredible mask shop

Unexpectedly, we also found quite a few modern art installations. These were housed in beautiful old buildings and churches and were all free to visit! In a city where everything costs money (even visiting a regular church) it was so refreshing so just be able to walk in. 

Modern art installation about family and personal dreams

Modern art about the connectivity of humanity

We did have to pay to go up St. Marks Clock Tower, but the view was worth it. Sadly, you have to take an elevator up, but at least you get 360 city views!




Afterwards, we visited the Doge’s Palace. This golden palace was where the Doge, or the Prince, of Venice would reside. This complex contains courtrooms, prisons, and stunning halls. It’s worth to note that we didn’t prebook any tickets and were able to walk in pretty much everywhere!



By the end of our palace visit, we’d been out for six hours so we decided it was time for some ice cream. We ended up at Gelateria Gallonetto and what a blessing that we did. I had a scoop of delicious peach-apricot-vanilla sorbet plus a scoop of lemon sorbet… topped with whipped cream! It’s the perfect pick-me-up for a hot day. 
Another delicious Italian gelato

Venice is such a unique city to explore, you will never experience anything like it. I adore the unrestricted freedom of being able to wander through the streets, without a map, without knowing where you’re going, but just knowing that you won’t get lost. Something feels so safe about the knowledge that you can’t truly get lost here, if you hit the edge of the city, you turn around and continue. 
Venetian sunset

Every street is beautiful and unique, there is really no bad place to be in Venice. 
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