La Serenissima

I remember Venice with unimaginable fondness, even though it has been 5 years since my first visit to this little jewel set in the Adriatic Sea. But why, you might ask? And why is Venice so often said to be excessively preoccupied with itself?

I can tell you this one truth: The beauty and majesty of Venice far surpasses the imagination of the human mind. Up until the moment one steps foot on Piazza San Marco, the other parts of the world might seem prettier, more exciting. But one foot on Venice, and all else quickly pales in comparison.

I myself cannot bring just testimony to the word "beauty" being used on Venice, for she redefines the meaning of beauty, and even beauty itself is slow to judge her.

One look at her, I forewarn, and Venice will forever keep you in her bosom, frozen in time and in love.

Quick Tips:

Everybody else you speak to will tell you the same thing: "Go, walk around the quaint colli (streets) of Venice, and get lost amongst them, for that is the only way to get to know her soul." True to the very core.

Practical tips: Avoid eating in the vicinity of Piazza San Marco, and no, I don't mean eating along the street behind the piazza as well. The restaurants have caught up with that, so to save big bucks, run far away from the Piazza, and eat where the locals eat. Choose cafes in which locals eat and bask. Those are perhaps the best and cheapest places to eat at. Also be reminded that sitting on a table doubles your charge, so standing up at the bar's the way to go.

Contrary to popular belief, I found the fashion in Venice superior to that in Milan, and the prices here are also surprisingly lower than those at the Fashion Capital - which is not surprising, if you think about it. So if you need to get leather bags/wallets, get them here. Don't wait till you get to Milan.

Best Way To Get Around:

Four letters: F.O.O.T.

Of course, you are going to be one of those tourists who spend 50,000 lire on a gondola ride. By all means go ahead, unlike others, I will not stop you. Because while the price is steep, you will moan for weeks when you get back knowing that if you had the chance again, you would even fork out 100,000 lire for that ride that you missed just because someone else told you to miss it (and that person probably took it and is telling everybody about it)! No trip to Venice will be complete without a gondola ride.

If you are really tight on budget, besides quitting on those porcelain masks, you could ride the local "canal buses". Bus #100 run from the Central Station to San Marco and back (60 minutes ride), and charge only 10,000 lire if you plan to hop aboard and return immediately. Full day passes and more cost a tad more, but these are cool because the pictures you can click along the ride are amazing!

Hotel Locanda Gaffaro is excellent, excellent, excellent for those who don''t want to spend too much, yet want the best service from every lire they spend on a room! Owners Davide and his father speak flawless English, and they are very accommodating. I had reserved a room for 4 nights, but had to cancel the last night due to commitments, and they waived all cancellation fees.

I had a room at the attic, which is really a whole lot more than I bargained for. It was absolutely stunning, and there''s a window on the roof within easy reach, through which I could look out and see the rest of the city outside... through the roof!!!

Breakfast is fantastic. Loaves, toasts, honey, marmalades, croissant, and oh, did I mention the juice? The Italian succo (pure juice and pulp) was like dew from heaven. You have a wide choice, ranging from pear and apple (the best!), to grapefruit, berry and melon. Also, I had a hot chocolate every morning which perked me up the rest of the day!

The hotel is in spanking new and clean conditions as it was just opened in November 2000. Book way ahead if you want to be guaranteed a room, because at such low rates (I paid so little even during peak carnevale season!) the rooms are snapped up pretty quickly.

The Locanda Gaffaro is 3 minutes from the Bus Station, 5 minutes from the Santa Lucia Train Station, and 15 minutes from San Marco.

An update on the Locanda Gaffaro (LG)

Recently one of our avid travellers stayed at the LG after reading of its high recommendation within these pages. Unfortunately their experience was highly disappointing and way below standard. My personal experience consisted of a fantastic attitude, super room service and comfortable accommodation. Their experience, however, consisted of hot stifling nights, unacceptable attitude and mould on bread.

I have offered to write to LG on these travellers'' behalf, requesting for ample explanation for the bad service received. Currently I remain in anticipation of the permission I sought from these travellers to quote their journal entry in my letter to LG. I firmly believe that their bad experience is an isolated unfortunate case.

In the meantime, I wish to advise would-be travellers to Italy on certain matters related to Italians. First and foremost, Italians are very house-proud people who take absolute pride in everything they do, making sure that guests and visitors are treated warmly and with respect. The last thing you should do, as a guest, would be to treat them with suspect and to see things in a biased, negative light.

Knowledge of the Italian language is a plus, but absolutely not necessary. A spluttering of words - ciao (hi), buongiorno (good morning), come stai? (how are you?), e'' una bella giornata (it''s a nice day), a presto (see you soon), etc - would go a long way in making your Italian stay much more memorable.

Remember also that Venice is a very expensive place especially if you choose to go during summer, or during one of the many festivals, primarily Il Carnevale in mid-february. So, do not assume that $75 will go a long way to getting you a 5 star hotel. 5 Stars go up from $250 during peak season. Hence, the high rating I gave to LG - for being absolutely a money-stretcher. Most people to Venice will be disappointed to find small rooms even though they might have paid over two hundred dollars per night. But please do not be one of them - understand that Venice is a very old city with many buildings newly renovated from the small buildings that are hundreds of years old. It''s simply impossible to build super-huge spanking new hotels like those you might find overlooking New York''s Central Park.

Last thing to add: most doubles at $75 during peak season will not have en-suite facilities. LG remainds one of the rare few that still boasts of this very important luxury. The hotel is also newly renovated and very clean.

Recently I received a lovely note from a fellow IGoUGo member who stayed at the Locanda Gaffaro after having read my review. I hope that this dispells whatever bad reviews were made against it previously. It is obviously a good location and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who plans to spend a romantic time in Venice.

------Original Message------
I just wanted to thank you for writing about locando garaffo, I took your suggestion up and booked the hotel in November '02. I loved it, the location, owners, everything was perfect. The breakfest was so good i had to take a picture of it before we ate. I also had a 2&1/2 child with me and they were extremly nice to her, even setting up an extra bed in the room. Thank you again for letting me know about this, it made me trip to italy even more extradinory. :)