Venice Archives | A Girl and Her Passport

Museo Fortuny in Venice

September 14, 2015

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If you haven’t noticed by now, I am a museum nut! I will go to every museum possible on a trip. Now, I am not a spend hours in them kind of person. I am a big believer in art fatigue and information overload. If I spend too long in a museum, I begin not to appreciate what I see. That being said, I still love them. Museo Fortuny in Venice was no exception. So in an effort to see one more museum, I took off to Museo Fortuny the morning of my flight back to Qatar. I knew I had just enough time to get to the museum when it opened and spend an hour there before I needed to return to my hotel to collect my luggage and haul myself to the airport.

Once again, I hadn’t done tons of research on this museum. I had just read about it in the guidebook and saw a banner for it on one of my strolls through the narrow streets of Venice. I did not know that Museo Fortuny was only open when they have a temporary exhibit installed, which the guidebook did not mention. It was a good thing that the museum was running the exhibit “Proportio” to run concurrently with the Venice Biennale. The exhibit was designed to explore the sense of proportion in art. The pieces ranged from small building size to miniature models. Other pieces felt like they were giving you a sense of the rooms proportions. The exhibition was amazing, and every floor brought a new sense of proportion and feeling to the rooms that they inhabited. My favorite was the all white room that had very minimal art in it. That being said, I must have been too mesmerized by this floor as I only took two photos in this room. One photo is the one below of that is of the windows with the white curtains. The room with the mirrors and the writing on the walls is the “Selfie Studio” and you can see me taking the photo in the mirror.

I really wish the museum was open during non-temporary exhibit times with it’s own collection. The description on the website and the pictures I have seen online look amazing. Apparently, Fortuny had a great collection of fashion, textiles, photos and paintings. I particularly love historic fashions and would have enjoyed seeing those. The website does not explain why the permanent collection is never exhibited though. I will have to watch and see if they ever plan to do so.

The museum also had some amazing views from the windows and the ground floor garden.

So if you are planning a visit to Venice before the end of November, then run to the Museo Fortuny so you don’t miss the current exhibition. Then make your way of over to the Venice Biennale. You can see some of my favorite pieces from that exhibition in this post.

Have you been to the Museo Fortuny? What was showing when you went?

Europe, Italy, Travel

Capturing Venice

August 31, 2015

I thought Venice was so beautiful! I spent much of my time taking photos of Venice. So, I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from the trip. Hope you enjoy!

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Europe, Italy, Travel

Locanda Casa Petrarca, Venice – Hotel Review

August 26, 2015

When I started looking for hotels in Venice, I quickly found out they are very expensive. I tried looking at Airbnb, but I had no idea where anything was located. I also knew I would need help navigating Venice, so I decided a hotel was the better choice. Now, I needed to find a cheaper hotel. One friend recommended one that looked great, but they wanted €250 for the first night! I headed over to Trip Advisor to see what the reviews had to say about some cheaper options. That is when I found Locanda Casa Petrarca.

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All the reviews were very good, well except for the person who clearly expected a five-star hotel for a one star price. What really got me was that everyone said how nice the owners were. I looked up the prices and it was much better than what I had already found. I booked right away! They emailed to confirm they had received my booking and asked for my estimated time of arrival. I had no idea when I was going to arrive since I was driving, which they said was fine, but the hotel isn’t staffed after 7pm. I knew I would arrive before then.

Arriving at the hotel sweaty, I was pleased to find a very small elevator to the second floor where the lobby of the hotel is located. I use the term lobby loosely! The entrance looked like an apartment. I only knew it was the place because of the sign. You walk into a cute sitting room. Next to the sitting room is the breakfast area and the “office.” They offered me water while they got me checked in, which was much appreciated since I was so hot. I did have to pay a €3 tax in cash when I arrived, but knew that before I arrived.

Then they showed me to my room, which was through the breakfast room and then through the kitchen. I was a bit concerned about this at first, but since I was up early every day to eat and go out, it didn’t matter. They weren’t noisy either. The other bonus was that I had my own entrance from the main building hall to the kitchen. In a way it felt like my own apartment as the entrance to the breakfast room was closed and locked at night. Another reason for me to choose this hotel was they had air conditioning! The air conditioner in my room was so good, I had to turn the temperature up. I found out later it had the newest air conditioner in the place.

The room had a massive bed and its own bathroom with a tub! I say own bathroom because a two rooms share a bathroom. I was really surprised it had a tub and that the bathroom was also a good size. The bed took up most of the room, but I didn’t care too much since I wasn’t going to be there much. It was comfortable and that is what matters. I had asked for a canal view and I got one. This was really nice because I could see the gondolas going by and at night they would sing. There isn’t a tv in this room, so the singing gondolas helped keep me entertained at night. Don’t worry about noise because you can close the outside shutters. There are only two rooms with canal views, so request early.

The breakfast was simple, but really good. It consisted of bread, fruit, yogurt and sliced meat. Oh and strong Italian coffee! So good. I also quickly discovered the best part of the hotel! It was about a three-minute walk to Piazza San Marco. I couldn’t believe my luck. The second hotel on this trip that had an amazing location. Most of the things I wanted to see were close by or were easy to get to via the Vaporetto at Piazza San Marco. This meant I didn’t spend precious time finding my way around and if you read Monday’s post you know I used that to take naps!

Everyone was right too, the staff is very friendly and helpful. When I checked in they gave me a map with all the major tourist attractions circled with Vaporetto line numbers on them. They even told me how to get to the Biennale. Later, Valentina gave me advice on a gelato place and lesser known places to visit.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take photos of the room because I didn’t think it would show well. I thought there would be photos of the room on their website, however, this room isn’t on the website. You can be assured the room is great and so is the bathroom. It is on the smaller size because of the bed, but it wasn’t an issue for me. Overall, I would stay here again in the same room. Check rates for Locanda Casa Petrarca here.

Have you stayed at a great place in Venice? Share in the comments!

Europe, Italy, Travel

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?

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