[Europe] Leaving Venice for Rome, Our Last Destination

A visit to Venice was very memorable for us, especially for Aurelia. She got a new experience by taking a gondola ride. However, we only had 1 day to explore Venice. From Venice, we’re going to our last destination at this Europe Trip, Rome. We took Frecciargeto train by Trenitalia to go to Rome from Venezia Santa Lucia Station. Before we’re going to the station, we stopped by at souvenir store accross the station, located next to Chiesa di San Simeone Piccolo. They’re selling Murano Glass accecories, and it’s all beautiful. FYI, Venice known for their Murano Glass. If you go to Venice, don’t forget to buy some of them. It’s quite pricey but it’s worth with the quality.

Souvenir store sells Murano Glass

Before go inside the station. Bye Venice!

 Our train leaving at 11.25 , but we’ve arrived 30 minutes earlier. So we decided to look around while waiting for the train. Luckily, we found Grom!! A famous gelato in Italy. We bought some gelato in cups, with different flavors. They’re all super delicious but my favorite is a combination between Raspberry and Lemon. Sweet and sour at the same time, it’s a great choice for a very hot day in summer.

Source : My Instagram Account @stellangelita

Train journey from Venice to Rome takes almost 4 hours. It's a long journey, but we didn't feel bored at all. While on the train, we saw a green scenery and they are amazing. At 15.10. the train stopped at Roma Termini Station, the biggest and the busiest train station in Rome. As usual, our hotel will not far from the station. During in Rome, we stayed at Hotel Morgana, a 4 stars hotel and it’s only 5 minutes walking (around 400m) from Termini station. This hotel is a good option. Beside the very strategic location that they have, the room rates also quite affordable for European standard hotel. By paying €102 / night for double room (€132 for triple room), you'll get a nice room and it's included breakfast.

Clear blue sky, greenery. It's amazing..

source : www.hotelmorgana.com

Unlike Venice, Rome has a lot of places that very interesting and you should visit them. Starts from Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, and many more. We spent 2 nights in Rome and it still not enough to explore this city. At the first day, we visited Colosseum and Trevi Fountain, and i’ll write about it at the next post..

[Europe] Gondola Ride, a Mandatory When in Venice

Venice, as a romantic city, they offer some attractions which you can do with your partner. One of them is gondola. Visiting Venice won’t be complete without taking a gondola ride. Even some people say, "Don't leave Venice without taking the gondola."

Gondola is a small boat, which can be fit up to 6 peoples. Gondola is a mandatory for tourist, because when you take this ride, you can feel the authenticity of Venice. Sitting down at the gondola, relaxing, and enjoy the view of this floating city when the wind blowing, what could be better??

Aurelia was very happy to take a gondola ride

For taking a gondola, it costs €80 for 30 minutes, and after 7pm it will climbs up to €100 for 40 minutes. Because at night, the ambience will be different. It's so quite, and make your gondola trip with partner more romantic. However, some gondolier will charge more for the ride. So make sure you talk about exact price and the duration before you hop in to the gondola.

Gondola Ride Price in Venice

The Gondolier Wears a Stripes T-shirt

During this 30 minutes ride, the gondolier will take you down the canal, and while you spoil you eyes with the authentic view of Venice,  you will hear his voice, singing in Italian. Perfect things to do with yor couple!

Flag with The Lion of St Mark - Venice

Spotted!! Ambulance in Venice

The gondola ride not only have 1 route. You can choose whether you want to ride it at the small canal, or at the big canal (Grand Canal) in front of Piazza San Marco.  If you want to put yourself at the Grand Canal, take a gondola at San Marco. It might be will charge more, but you’ll get a different experience.

[Europe] Budget Friendly Food in Venice

As i was saying at the previous post, Venice is an expensive city. Of course it also happenned with the food. While in Venice, i didn’t have a lunch or dinner at the restaurant. Because mostly, cafe or restaurant in Venice will give an extra charge for dine in, around €2 - €4 per person. Especially if it’s located at the popular attractions such as Rialto Bridge or Piazza San Marco. A good ambience, with a great view and high class service, make those restaurant become pricey. So we chose to just buy a food to go, because it’s affordable yet tasty.

Well at this post, i’ll write about some places that i visited, and they’re selling a budget friendly food with a good taste.

1. Dal Moro’s Fresh Pasta to Go
    I knew about this place before i arrived in Venice. When i was planning for my Europe Trip, i found out about cheap food around Piazza San Marco. Most people talked about Dal Moro’s and it has a lot of good reviews. The best seller is pesto, which i ordered. No wonder they got a lot of good reviews.  A fresh pasta in a box, with a delicious Italian sauce, who can reject it?? And it also comes with affordable price. €5 - €7 for 1 box of pasta, in Venice. It’s a very good deal.

Dal Moro's Menu

Pesto

Address : Calle Casseleria, 5324, 30122, Venezia VE Italy . Opening hours : Mon - Sat 12 PM - 08.30 PM. Website : http://www.dalmorosfreshpastatogo.com/

2. La Maison de La Crêpe
Unlike Dal Moro’s, i just found this creperie all sudden. I was strolling around Rialto Bridge at night, and saw a long queue in front of it. My curiousity brought my hubby and i to join the line and ordered a chocolate and banana crepe.

Sweet Crepes Menu

They not just sell a sweet crepes, but they also have savoury crepes as well. They also sell the ice cream only with some delicious flavour options.

Savoury Crepes Menu

Ice Cream on Cone / Cup

The choice of Ice Cream's Flavor

Crepes on the Process

 Honestly, i'm not a person who likes to eat crepes. But this crepe was really tasty. It's soft and have a good filling in it.

Address : Sestiere Cannaregio, 5781, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy . Opening hours : Mon - Sun 10.15 AM - 11.30 PM


So that's all what i ate because we only have 1 day in Venice . Do you have another budget friendly food recommendation in Venice? Feel free to write it on the comment box below..