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Venice as a Solo Traveler

August 24, 2015

Ah Venice, the city of romantic gondola rides and Casanova! Most people think of Venice as being a city for couples and not for the single traveler. But I am here to tell you that Venice IS for the single traveler. Not once while I was there did I ever regret going alone. Here are my seven reasons for loving Venice as a solo traveler.

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1. The narrow streets – I loved all the narrow streets, but being with someone else would have meant someone being the leader or the follower. How romantic is it to follow someone around the whole trip and not being able to have a conversation?

2. Getting lost – I enjoyed getting lost on those narrow streets, and I am not sure if a companion would have been so patient with me. I have a good sense of direction, so sometimes I just started walking in the general direction of the place I was going!

3. People watching – Not that you can’t do this with a partner, but I sat for several hours in Piazza San Marco watching people. I enjoyed the silence and my thoughts. (And an Aperol Spritz!)

4. Finding food – Being alone allowed me to dictate when I ate and where I ate. Usually, this meant wandering around for an hour or so before I decided. And since I was by myself, no one asked if I had a reservation!

5. Going to back to my room early – Yes, I sound old, but I had bought two bottles of wine at the winery and I couldn’t take them to Qatar. I went back to my room after dinner and rested my tired feet, drank wine and read.

6. The walkability – Because I was alone I walked almost everywhere instead of taking the airless Vaporetto. I was in Venice during the heat wave and the Vaporetto was sweltering and had no air flow. By walking, I could escape into shops and the shape. With two people, the Vaporetto might have been faster, but I found some cool things by walking.

7. Taking rests – I took plenty of rests on this trip because of the heat. Since I was alone, I decided when and where those rests would be. And to be honest, some of those rests, were a nap back at the hotel in the air conditioning and one was with an Aperol Spritz!

Of course, you can enjoy Venice with your partner or a group of people! But I am so glad I went and didn’t wait for someone else to go with me. Have you been somewhere that is traditionally only for couples, but enjoyed it as a solo traveler?

Art, Europe, Italy

Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition

August 17, 2015

One of the main reasons for going to Venice this summer was the Venice Biennale . The Biennale takes place every year and odd years are art and even years are architecture. Much of the art is exhibited by country in specific pavilions that have been built over the years. There are two main locations in Venice, one is the Gardini and the other is Arsenale. There are other locations throughout Venice. It currently runs through November 22, 2015. It is open every day, except Mondays, from 10-6. I would highly recommend you buy your tickets online and print them so you do not have to stand in line, as the ticket office does not open until 10. Since I am not an expert on art, I will just give you a photo essay of my favorite pieces in the exhibition. I will say that many of the exhibits were a full sensory experience with sound and smells, which is hard to convey here.

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Europe, Italy

Tenuta Sant’Antonio Winery

August 13, 2015

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Back in the Spring of 2010, I bought a bottle of wine at a wine tasting. It was an expensive bottle of wine for me and was really expensive then since I was unemployed at the time. I was saving it for a special event, although I didn’t know what that was. One day I came home to find my Dad drinking it! (I was living at home between jobs.) The wine was fantastic. Unfortunately, they don’t make too many bottles, and I couldn’t ever find the same brand for sale. The winery is Tenuta Sant’Antonio, which is located about 30 minutes outside of Verona.

Once I decided I was going to Venice and that I was going to drive from Rome, I knew I had to stop at the winery. The wine I had loved is their Scaia Corvina and really wanted to have another bottle. Visiting the winery was my next chance! Their website didn’t indicate whether or not they gave tastings, so I emailed them. They wrote back right away and said they did from 8-12 and 1-5 every day, but Sundays. I told them I would be there around 10 on the day I planned to arrive.

Driving from Verona to the winery was a little difficult as the GPS was unable to find the winery at first, and Google maps did not operate too well in Verona. At one point, the GPS wanted me to drive through someone’s yard on a gravel road. Eventually, I made it. I wasn’t disappointed either. They seemed surprised to see me even though I had emailed in advance, but I didn’t follow-up a few days before and maybe I should have. Once we got it sorted that I wanted a tasting, they were happy to oblige.

I decided to do reds only as that is what I had come for, and I was glad. Tenuta Sant’Antonio has 8 or 9 red wines! Plus a dessert red wine. I had never heard of that! The Corvina was still one of my favorites. The Corvina grape is partially dried before pressing, and I think it is what gives the wine such a smooth flavor. My other favorites from the tasting were the TelosValpolicella and Amarone della Valpolicella Selezione Antonio Castagnedi. The Telos line is sulphate free and was the best sulphate free wine I have had. I bought one Corvina and one Telos Valpolicella. If I remember right the Amarone della Valpolicella was €35, so a bit pricier than I wanted. The Corvina was €8, and the Telos was €11. Both were great over the next few days in Venice. I wish I could have brought them back to Doha.

As I said getting there was tricky. You might print a physical map to take with you. I saw a sign on the side of the road for the winery and followed it. It took me through the village of San Briccio, and there were more signs there, so you could go that way. However, on Google maps it looks like there might be a more direct way. The other thing to note is that after the village of San Briccio, there were no more signs, but the road only goes one way. I basically followed the road until it ran out, and that is where the winery was. Here it is on Google Maps. It is also on top of a hill, but my Fiat 500 made it just fine. If you have more time than I did, make a day of it and visit more wineries in the area as I passed many on my way.

Is there a winery in the Veneto region you would recommend?

Europe, Italy, Travel

Hotel Trieste, Verona

August 11, 2015

Hotel Trieste in Verona was the funkiest hotel I have ever stayed at, and it was awesome! I usually don’t get too excited about a hotel unless it is luxurious or has a special feature. This hotel was the exception to that. I picked it based on the great reviews on Trip Advisor; its fabulous location and the cool photos from other guests. I was not disappointed.

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Before I even booked with them, they had impressed me. Since I was driving, I knew I needed a hotel with parking and preferred an actual parking lot and not valet. I emailed them before booking to confirm they had parking. They emailed me back within an hour or less, I can’t remember. They had parking, and it was underground and video monitored. I confirmed the video monitoring when I arrived because I could see behind the front desk. The video monitor was also used to show me how to enter the hotel from the garage. Unfortunately, their elevator had stopped working early that evening and offered to help me from the garage with my luggage. The hotel desk clerk gave me my set of keys and offered me a map with his must see sites circled along with the restaurant I mentioned in yesterday’s post. He also ran my bag upstairs as it was on the third floor. The lobby was also impressive with its fun décor and bar area.

According to the hotel website and Trip Advisor this place had air conditioning and I was really looking forward to air conditioning since my friend’s place didn’t have any, just like the rest of Italy! Of course, my version of air conditioning and Italy’s version of air conditioning could be different. Fortunately, this hotel’s air conditioning was great and immediately started cooling the room after I turned it on.

What I didn’t expect was the retro design of the room! When I looked at the website the rooms looked nice, but not like this, so I am assuming a recent renovation had been done. The room was painted a soft pink with brown herringbone carpet. The accent color was green. I loved the carpet! I am not sure why, as it isn’t my style, but it was fun and obviously new as it had no wear or stains on it. The other unexpected thing was not one, but two balconies! I guess when your city is famous for a balcony you have balconies! I didn’t go out because of the heat, and the view wasn’t great, but in the cooler months, this would have been awesome with a glass of wine.

The hotel offered a breakfast in the morning that was similar to other small hotels in Europe, mainly consisting of fruits, pastry, deli meat, and cheese. The night before I had been in a tent near the Verona Area as they were having a regional food tasting. I stumbled upon this by accident. There I had a serving of nectarines like I have never had before! They tasted so good and looked even better, so when I saw them at breakfast, I knew to have those. I think I went back for a second helping too! I highly recommend this hotel for their hospitality, less than a five-minute walk to the historic center, great rooms, and if you are there in summer the air conditioning and the nectarines!

Check here for rates on Booking.com or Hotels.com

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