Day 1

Ah, Venice. The third and last city of our Italy trip. By now we've already had more gelato than my whole life put together, understand how an Italian menu works, and even learnt a few words from the constant exposure to them. We've planned our days with generous pockets of time to wander around in between getting to the different places we want for each day. So here they are.

[9:30am] We started our first day in Venice, with E being our navigation system through the very many maze-y streets. Just taking everything in as we walk. E being ever the glutton and S a fan of seafood, they couldn't resist a good looking €2.50 squid.

[10:00am] There's the Rialto Bridge and the view it offers. As we walk towards the Doge Palace, we caught a glimpse of how Venetians live their daily lives, transporting people and goods via the rivers. Also came across a Diagon Alley worthy dragon looking thing above a shop.

[11:30am] After a bit of shopping, we arrived outside Doge Palace. While E queues for tickets, I wandered around the area and noticed a guy setting up his large format camera. Not sure about the nature of the relationship between the man and the lady but I can't help notice how cheery the lady is helping the guy out all that time. Trying to get photos of her happy faces while trying not feeling like a creep at the same time.

[12:00pm] And we're in. Ceilings with huge paintings and portraits with gold, I'm no art aficionado but I couldn't help but feel amazed at how magnificent the palace is. Mostly in awe of the details.

[3:00pm] After another fix of gelato, we moved next door to the Saint Mark's Basilica, after depositing our bags at a nearby street less than 300m away because they aren't allowed. Again, I'm in awe at how grand the interior feels.

[4:00pm] We milled around outside for more photo-taking before making our way back before it gets dark. Just in case we couldn't find our way back. Spotted faces in intercoms, one looking very much like Tinman from Wizard of Oz. I'm calling it that I've spotted a hiding Transformer. Ending our first day in Venice with a welcome message on the wall*. I guessed what it meant because Italian words bare some similarities to French words so I took a photo of it.

*Just do a quick Google Translate.

Day 2

We leave the main island for Murano and Burano via water taxi. Walked until my feet protested, saw loads of dogs and chanced upon a music video shoot.

[9:30am] After a bit of queuing, we finally hopped on the water taxi that'll bring us to Murano, the town famous for its glass production. The second we disembarked, we walked past a guy by the pier announcing a free demonstration of glass blowing. I enjoyed watching the different modes of river transportation along the river walk.

[11:30am] Had an early lunch at B Restaurant. Also noticed how there seem to be many dog owners in Italy.

[1:00pm] Walked towards the lighthouse where the other water taxi station is that'll take us to Burano. The village is famous for its colourful houses and lace products. It has a quieter vibe compared to Murano, which I prefer. There's a lace museum as well but we didn't stop by, preferring to walk into random shops we pass by instead.

[4:00pm] Looks like we chanced upon a Bollywood music video set. If anyone can identify the guy in leather jacket in the second photo below let me know in the comments, it'll help put an end to my curiosity!

[5:00pm] We began our long journey back, where a good looking Venice welcomes us back to our warm room.

Day 3

My favourite day in Venice, where we've got no where planned to go and just ended up wandering to the other part where we haven't been the previous two days. I did loads of people-watching, more gelato and coffee.

[11:00am] The right way to start a day -- with a gelato! We spotted Santa having a vacation in Venice like ourselves, fiddling with his camera and enjoying the sun with some beer by the river.

[2:00pm] Walked past yet another filming! Must be our lucky week. We stayed for quite some time, hoping to see at least a take but nothing really happened before we got chased away by one of the crew members.

[3:00pm] We decided to stop by the much raved coffee place on TripAdvisor, Torrefa- well you know where, just look at the photo below.

We head back for an early dinner and then for our trip out of Italy and to England. Despite a lot of people raving about Venice, I didn't come with a high expectation. Good thing too. I didn't feel there was much to offer and found myself enjoyed the people-watching more than the city itself. Even though everything feels a little underwhelmed, I didn't feel like I wasted time being there. I wouldn't visit again in a hurry, unless it will be a trip that allows me to see the city through different eyes.