Venice Day 1 & 2: Beautiful violin concert to cap off a leisurely day

Venice has been number one on my bucket list of places to visit for a long time, and I finally made my dream trip in 2018. I don't like to rush my vacation in trying to visit multiple cities at one time and decided to spend my full 3 days in Italy just within Venice. There's definitely other places that I would like to visit but that can remain as a motivation to make another trip next time!

I arrived at the Venice airport in the late afternoon and took the Alilaguna water buses directly to San Marco Giardinetti - this was one of the closest stops to where my hotel was located. I found the Venice for Visitors site a great resource when planning this trip, there are very detailed information here for tourists - from transportation to accommodation, sightseeing and tips.

Accommodation in Venice can get a little pricey but I wanted to be on the island so I splurged a little and booked a single room at the Hotel Cavaletto & Doge Orseolo (approximately 225 Euros for three nights, including breakfast). The location of the hotel was perfect, just a few minutes walk from St. Mark's Square and made a perfect starting point for any little adventures around Venice. 

I only spent a short time exploring the area around the hotel the first night as the sun was already setting by the time I had arrived and checked in.

First thing on the itinerary the next morning was to visit the markets selling fresh seafood and vegetables. There were a lot of spices for sale as well, and I bought a few packs of spice mixes - one each for seasoning meat and fish as well as a pack of pre-mixed risotto. 

There were many small cafes and restaurants around the market area - I saw few places selling freshly fried seafood which looked really good. Regretted having had a full breakfast at the hotel as I wasn't able to try any of them.

After walking around the market, I randomly wandered along the canals - didn't have any fixed route planned but I did have roaming on my phone so was able to use that to find my way back once I was done for the day.

Stopped at a little restaurant for lunch when I got hungry, and got a whole pepperoni pizza for only 8.50 Euros! Delicious and affordable - I couldn't even finish the whole pizza and packed the leftovers to go. 

I found prices in the restaurants directly around the hotel and St. Marks Square to be more pricey, maybe due to the large number of tourists in the direct vicinity. This restaurant was in a quieter area and did not appear to be over-crowded, unfortunately I was wandering around randomly at the time so can't identify exactly where this was.

I did grab some gelato as well in another shop, no photos as that was finished in an instant! My favorite flavor is definitely the hazelnut one, or gianduia.

There were a lot of little shops selling Venetian masks as well as little souvenirs, spent some time just browsing - didn't buy anything here though.

Violin concert at Chiesa di San Vidal

Ended the second night in Venice attending a concert at Chiesa di San Vidal. I had visited the Venice Music Museum earlier in the day, and they were selling tickets to the violin concert for about 25 Euros. On a whim, I decided to go for the concert and this definitely became one of the highlights of the trip. 

The church itself is not too large in size, and it seemed like a much more intimate experience with a smaller audience. Definitely recommend to give this a try if there is a concert at the time you are visiting - I can't claim to know anything about music but this made for a night to remember.

Nighttime at St. Mark's Square

It was interesting staying on Venice island itself as most tourists leave for the mainland around or after sunset - less crowds around made me feel like I had some of Venice to myself. Walking back to the hotel with certain areas lit up like in St. Mark's Square felt wonderful, great end to the night!