A few days in Venice - Part 1

A little more than 12 years ago, when BP was just a baby, we took a short family holiday to Venice. We loved it so much - despite having to lift a pushchair over about a million bridges(!) - that we wanted to go back. It has been twelve years but we finally managed to get back to Venice this year.

We decided that 2 nights would be enough and we knew we'd get plenty of walking and sight-seeing done. Even in two nights I took enough photos to fill 6 blog posts and have enough to write about that this needs to be split into two posts.





The flight


Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate flying, as soon as I see a plane the butterflies start fluttering around in my stomach and my heart rate increases. Once I get on the plane I have to distract myself so I don't think about the fact that I'm thousands of feet in the air in a big metal can. Reading helps with that and I started and almost finished a book during the flight.



Plane wing, taken from inside the plane. Green land and clouds in the background
LP took hundreds of photos out of the window of the plane.



LP helped to distract me too, he was so excited about being on a plane and sitting in the window seat that it was hard not to watch him. His eyes lit up as the plane went through the clouds and once the plane was above the clouds he shrieked. The flight was only a few hours but he stared out of the window almost the whole time and when it came to descent he wanted to take photos. I handed him my phone and he snapped about a hundred photos out of the window.



Venice is the small island in the top right of the photo.



When the plane touched down I was able to breathe again and my heart rate settled to a normal level. We were almost there.



A taxi with a difference


There are no roads in Venice so how can you get a taxi? It's a water taxi!


Boat, water taxi, leaving airport.



There are various options when you arrive at the hotel - you can get a boat with lots of other people or you can get a water taxi, a boat all by yourself. That's what we decided to do and I snapped a few photos during our trip across the water and through the canals of Venice. The boys loved being able to stand up in the taxi and have the sea splash on their faces as the boat jumped over the wakes of other boats.



Me and the boys sitting in the back of the water taxi.



The float/drive through the canals was amazing and I had my phone out snapping as many photos as I could get.



Morgan Prince and Hubby in water taxi in Venice
A rare selfie of the Hubby and me. 



Venice buildings taken from on the canal.



A venetian building, photo taken from the canal. Venice.



Venice, along the canal.



Fancy door leading to steps down to the canal in Venice.
If only I could've taken a selfie in front of that door!



A gondola in the canal in Venice, venetian buildings in the background.
The gondolas were everywhere!



Venetian gallery, as taken from the canal.
I didn't notice until we got home that it looks like there was art by Hockney being displayed here!







Walking to the hotel


The water taxi dropped us off at a marina-type place and we walked to our hotel. Again I was taking photos the whole time and some of the sights were breathtaking.





  • Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on water.

Frida Giannini





When we arrived at our hotel I wasn't sure what to think, it looked small. We were shown to our room, which was just a short walk upstairs, and we switched on the lights. The room was old-looking with fancy gold features all around. The chandelier was coloured, with blue and red glass as well as clear. The room was comfortable with two smaller beds for the boys.






Venice hotel room bed - very red



glass chandelier in venice hotel. coloured glass.
I wasn't keen on the chandelier, if it wasn't for the coloured glass it would be lovely.



We had a little rest after unpacking and then went out for a walk. We wandered around the streets close to the hotel and as it was getting late decided to find somewhere to eat. As we didn't know the area we turned to TripAdvisor for some insight and learned there was a good restaurant nearby. Apparently, according to TripAdvisor, it was the 5th best place in Venice!


statue head above door in Venice
This was just outside our hotel entrance and I thought it was worth taking a photo.



Canal in Venice, full of gondolas
Most of the canals looked like this, it was busy.



St. Mark's Square, Venice, at sunset. Bird flying.



Our first meal in Venice


Dressed in shorts and t-shirt we walked in to Alla Corone and I suddenly thought we weren't dressed well enough to be able to eat there. It looked very fancy and I was convinced they would turn us away. Instead they welcomed us and showed us to a quiet table in the restaurant.

You can always tell a fancy restaurant by the types of menus they have, if they have a "Tasting Menu" then you can be fairly sure it's a rather fancy place. Alla Corone had a tasting menu and the Hubby and I were rather excited by the prospect - even better they had a wine pairing option too. Needless to say the Hubby and I both chose the tasting menu with wine pairings.

To be honest because we chose the tasting menu I couldn't tell you exactly what we ate but I do have photos and hopefully I can remember what it was!

To start with we had scallops, I believe they were on a bed of eggplant cream and poppy seeds. It was so tasty. Scallops are one of my favourite starters and they went down a treat.



scallops and eggplant at Alla Corone, Venice
The scallops didn't last long at all.



Next we had sardines, I think they were breaded and deep fried with a strange tangy sauce and red onion. I don't usually eat sardines and despite being tangy I enjoyed this course.



Alla Corone, Venice - sardines



For LP we decided he only needed a main course and I chose for him because I knew he'd be picky about choosing. I picked something that I was fairly sure he would eat and hoped for the best. His meal was large pasta hoops with duck in a meaty sauce, he really enjoyed it and has even mentioned it a few times since we've been home. 



Alla Corone, Venice - pasta loops with duck in a sauce



Next for the Hubby and I was prawns with a cheese ravioli - I really wasn't sure about this one before I dug in, I don't particularly like cheese and the idea of ravioli filled cheese didn't appeal. However I decided to be brave and ate it despite my dislike of cheese. It was quite nice, I didn't enjoy it as much as the other courses but it was okay.



prawns with cheese ravioli - Alla Corone, Venice



With BP turning 13 we decided he could have an adult meal, for his starter he had scallops just like us, but for his main he chose a seafood tagliatelle which looked amazing. There were mussels and prawns as well as other seafood and some tomatoes too. I didn't get to try any because he ate it so fast but I'll take that as it being really good!



Seafood tagliatelle at Alla Corone, Venice



In Venice you tend to have four courses, which can seem like a lot but BP wanted to try. For his next course he had fish - I think it was herring but I can't be sure about that. This course looked very tasty and I would've finished off the whole thing but being a teen and afraid of vegetables BP only ate the fish.



Seabass/herring - Alla Corone, Venice



For Hubby and I our next course was also fish - Seabass in fact. I love Seabass - I can cook it at home and it comes out really well (even if I do say so myself!), I tend to pair it with rocket leaves. At Alla Corone it was paired with onion and what looked like small radishes. It was lovely and I would totally eat it again... and again, and again.



Seabass - alla corone, Venice



For dessert the Hubby, me, and BP all had the same - Panna Cotta. It was in a strawberry "soup" and had berries in there too. Again it was lovely and I wouldn't mind having it again. 



Panna Cotta, Alla Corone, Venice



LP had a "chocolate heart cake" as the boys call it. Basically it's a chocolate cake with a soft chocolate centre paired with ice-cream. He loved this so much that it has become his go-to dessert if he finds it anywhere else!


Chocolate cake with a soft chocolate centre and ice-cream, Alla Corone, Venice



Despite being completely stuffed even more things were brought to our table, this time they were small dessert type things like macaroons. It was a selection of bite-sized treats and the boys loved it.



macaroon at Alla Corone, Venice.



Now, I know I said the Hubby and I had wine pairings and I haven't mentioned the wine. That is because, basically, I had/have no idea about wine. I don't usually drink it and when someone tries to tell me what wine there is my eyes glaze over. All I can say is that the pairings worked well with each course and I drank a lot of it so it must've been good!


The walk back to the hotel in the dark was lovely, we were able to look around and there weren't as many tourists about so it was nice.



night photo of shops in Venice


Well, this post has ended up being quite epic. I'm going to stop there and return later with part two of our visit to Venice. In part two you'll read about our second day in Venice as we walked around the streets and took lots of photos as well as two other meals we enjoyed!

If you've been to Venice or even been to Alla Corone I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Leave a comment or stop by my Facebook Page and chat with me.