• Home
  • About Carol
  • About us

Luxury Travel Magazine

An unpretentious guide to luxury travel, culture and adventure

  • About Luxury travel
  • Destinations
  • Spas
    • The Spa and Spa Travel
    • Hot Springs Spas and Thermal Baths: Why You Should Visit One
    • Spa Towns in Europe – 8 Reasons You Should Visit
  • Popular Articles
    • Things to Do in Canada
    • Top European Destinations
    • Things to Do in the South of France
    • Travel and Art: Artistic Cities, Art Fairs and Painting Holidays
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Luxury travel blog » Places » Europe » Italy » What to do in Venice

What to do in Venice

November 23, 2013 by Carol Perehudoff 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links.

Okay, time is running out in Italy. With only one day left, here are my big dilemmas about what to do in Venice:

Dilemma #1: Should we take a cheesy gondola ride in Venice?

I have gondolas coming out of my ears

I have gondola horns

 

This is our honeymoon. We should be doing romantic things like gondola rides. But wait, aren’t Mark and I are too hip and urban for tourist traps like that? But then, if you have to tell yourselves you are hip and urban, you probably aren’t. And if you truly were hip and urban wouldn’t it be the hippest most urban thing ever to transcend the unhip and ride a gondola?

To gondola or not to gondola

To gondola or not to gondola?

 

The question is, will people recognize the irony and notice our deep innately cool factor as we float down the Venice canals? The bigger question is, does it matter? When you’re trying to decide what to do in Venice you need to think of things like that.

This could be you!

This could be you

Dilemma #2: Should we try to get a dinner reservation at Harry’s Bar?

St Mark's Square

I know Harry’s Bar is around here somehwere

 

I’d be all over Harry’s Bar if it wasn’t for the eye flick. Mark and I went to Harry’s Bar on the Grand Canal just off St Mark’s Square – the place that Hemingway made famous and where Bellinis were created (champagne and peach. yum.)

To be truthful, Harry’s Bar is not much to look at, at least not the part we saw, and certainly not compared to the glorious Longhi Bar at the Hotel Gritti Palace, our honeymoon hotel of choice.

Longhi Bar at the Gritti

Longhi Bar at the Gritti

 

Knowing (because of my international sophistication and aforementioned hip and urban-ness) that there is the upstairs part at Harry’s Bar, where ahem, Angelina and Brad are known to hang out, I asked the very intelligent question, “Isn’t there an upstairs?” and the bartender flicked, yes flicked, his eyes at me, that briefest of up and down looks, and, after the tiniest pause, said, “Yes madame, but it’s not open until 7.”

The flick! The flick! Even Mark noticed the flick that in Venice says, you are not worthy. We are a mighty city with a history of wealth and power and you are not of us. 

I am too worthy! I'm in a private speedboat going to Murano to look at chandeliers

I am worthy! Am so! Am so! I’m in a private speedboat going to Murano to look at chandeliers

 

Meanwhile Mark murmurs, “Maybe we should come back when we’ve changed,” even though he’d be far happier sitting in a little trattoria somewhere. And maybe I shouldn’t have worn my hiking boots into Harry’s Bar because this is supposed to be a honeymoon full of luxury travel and I should be looking divine at all times, but it was raining that day and we had to sludge along the streets somehow.

Who's going to look worthy on a day like this?

Who’s going to look worthy on a day like this?

 

(In the end we did have a drink at Harry’s Bar, in the lesser-status bottom part. Mark had a sherry and I had a hot milk, which just goes to show, once again, how truly cosmopolitan I am, because I drank it with irony.)

Dilemma #3: Should we buy a Murano glass chandelier in Venice?

Want, want, want

Want, want, want

 

If you’re wondering what to do in Venice, think about shopping. Oh, how I want a Murano glass chandelier! I’ve coveted these strange amazing objects ever since I saw the ornate chandeliers in the bar of the Danieli Hotel on the Grand Canal a few years ago and thought, Are those for real? Can that crazy confection of colours and flowers hoodwink us into thinking it’s elegant?

The Danieli

The Danieli

 

Murano glass chandeliers look like something the artist Jeff Koons would have done in the 80s (but chandeliers like these go back centuries. There is a stunning original from the 1700s at Ca’Rezonnico, a palace on the Grand Canal that’s been turned into the Museum of 18th century Venice, so if you’re ever wondering what to do in Venice on a cultural level, you should definitely go there.)

And then … and then, after a few seconds of looking at those Danieli chandeliers I fell in love. It was instant, as if the melted glass flowed right into my veins.

I have glass coming out of my brains

The melted glass flowed into my veins and exploded out of my head

 

It’s been 7 years since I first saw those chandeliers and I’ve lusted after one ever since. Wouldn’t it be a symbol of Mark’s and my new life together if we bought one? A precious object that is fragile but, if treated with care, will last forever? And what an incredible souvenir of our honeymoon. Handmade glass from the island of Murano.

Made with care

Made with care

 

Or am I falling into another tourist snare like Alice down the rabbit hole. Murano glass isn’t cheap – we’ve seen the price for chandeliers range from about $800 to gulp, more than $14,000 (of course that was the one I really liked.) And does it matter that we don’t actually have a dining room to put it in? I mean, yet.

While I’m thinking all this, Mark is thinking, Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? Touring Europe through its spas and glass shops? 

IMG_6636

And my response is, “Not just Europe, honey, the world.”

 

You also might enjoy (or not):

Romantic Venice on my own (from a previous trip)

Read more: about the Top Cities to Visit in Italy

For more of the best places in Europe to see: visit Top Destinations in Europe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Italy, Romantic Travel Tagged With: Venice

About Carol Perehudoff

A former freelance travel columnist for the Toronto Star, Carol has won more than 20 writing and blogging awards and honours. A spa and luxury travel expert, she's written for top travel publications around the globe.

Comments

  1. Carol Perehudoff says

    April 23, 2015 at 9:08 am

    Aw, thanks, Ewan!

  2. Ewan says

    April 22, 2015 at 7:44 pm

    A witty and informative article, loved it!

  3. GlobalGrasshopper (@globalgrasshopr) says

    January 13, 2014 at 5:19 am

    Gorgeous photos, I love Venice but we went in July it was so crowded it almost spoilt it. I think out of season is definitely the best time to go!

  4. Carol Perehudoff says

    December 1, 2013 at 9:30 pm

    Thanks, Carol and Lesley, yes, we did buy a chandelier. With black and gold flowers. I can’t wait to see it. Hopefully it will arrive in one piece!

  5. Lesley Peterson says

    November 28, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    Beautiful photos! I love the traditional chandeliers that look like twisted candy but I can also imagine that vivid blue sculpture as a lamp. Didja get one??

  6. Carol Sutton says

    November 28, 2013 at 11:14 am

    First off love you clear and sharp photos of Venice. I very much like your thought; “And what an incredible souvenir of our honeymoon” – The Murano glass chandelier pictured is perfect. Go for it. So happy for you both.

  7. Rebecca Minton says

    November 27, 2013 at 11:07 pm

    So did you get the chandelier? and if so, just where would it be installed?

  8. sherel says

    November 23, 2013 at 3:33 pm

    Screw the gondola and the glassware and storm back to Harry’s @7 and don’t forget to flick the waiter:-)

  9. Dee Lowe says

    November 23, 2013 at 10:51 am

    Awesome!

Talk to me! Leave a comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search

Subscribe and you won't miss an article!

About Wandering Carol

circle profileIn my 10+ years as a travel writer and columnist I've seen the best of what the world has to offer and written for some top publications around the globe - and now my goal is to bring this expertise to you. For more blah blah blah, visit my
About page.

Connect with me online

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Carol Perehudoff published in top media, logos for newspapers and magazines

Categories

How to use this adventure and luxury travel site

  • Click on the ‘DESTINATIONS TO TRAVEL TO’ tab on the menu bar to go to my destinations page.
  • The CATEGORIES drop down menu above will point you to locations and travel themes such as hotels, outdoor adventure and tours.
  • SUBSCRIBE to keep up with the latest articles and get tips to make your next journey inspiring.

Recent Posts

  • A (Lost) Love for Travel on Valentine’s Day
  • Best Beach Resorts in South Africa: Top 9 Luxury Stays for 2021
  • A Chocolate Christmas in Switzerland
  • Best Place to Live in South Africa | Cheapest, Safest and Best on Offer
  • Romantic Budapest

Recent Comments

  • Carol Perehudoff on A Tropical Island Cocktail Cure at Paradisus Palma Real
  • chrisrochfort on Who worked at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel?
  • brittshedhappens on My shamanic healing in the Amazon, Peru
  • Christa McKinney on A Tropical Island Cocktail Cure at Paradisus Palma Real
  • Ruth Reynolds on Bad Kreuznach – the German Spa Town You Probably Never Heard of

Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Copyright @2020 WanderingCarol.com Luxury Travel Blog