Italy Travel Diary + Vlog | Part 2 - Venice and Burano

Video was shot using the iPhoneX + DJI Osmo Mobile 2 for stabilization. Edited with Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2018 and Adobe After Effects CC 2018.

Buongiorno! I promised y’all a part 2 to my Italy Part 1 Vlog on Rome, and here it is!

Venice was one of the most stunning and unique places I’ve ever traveled to. Despite the city being touristy, it was definitely less hectic and more manageable compared to Rome and Florence. Although Venice has plenty of places dedicated to tourists and large crowds, it’s easy to step away from the main road and into quieter, more secluded alleyways. Due to its small size, Venice is very easy to explore on foot (you also have no choice but to do so since cars and bikes alike are not allowed on the island).

In addition to Venice, we also set aside one morning to visit the island of Burano, which is just a 30-40 minute boat ride away from Venice. Its colorful houses, small narrow streets, and picturesque canals make it one of the most gorgeous and rare places to photograph.

Since boats are the only form of transportation allowed in Venice, walking around became exponentially easier compared to the more hectic Rome and Florence. You can stroll through the city carelessly without having to worry about cars and vespas looming around the corner.

I loved exploring Venice during sunrise and sunset—the orange sunlight hitting the colorful brick houses really makes everything look surreal. I made an effort to wake up at 4:30 AM one morning to explore the area around our Airbnb and the Rialto bridge to get a sense of the city at its quietest.

Waking up early proved its value when I arrived at the Rialto Bridge. I walked past it a couple of times during the day and it was absolutely flooded with tourists trying to get their own photo of the Grand Canal. At 6AM, however, it was completely empty and gave me a chance to watch Venice’s sunrise without the disturbance of other tourists.

Piazza San Marco is equally as beautiful in the rain as it is at at dusk. Be sure to stop by both sides of Caffè Florian to listen to live music performed by small ensembles of classical musicians.

Compared to Rome, Venice’s food game is unfortunately not as strong. Try to avoid tourist traps that serve American staples like French Fries and Burgers or American-converted Italian dishes such as Spaghetti and Meatballs. (Note that Italians never eat spaghetti together with meatballs. They will have them separately—spaghetti as a first course and meatballs as a second—but they will never combine the two).

But because Venice is so close to the ocean, there is a large selection of fresh seafood that comes to the island every day. Opt for the dishes that contain seafood instead of the more familiar American dishes.

Burano

When in Venice, try to stop by the picturesque island of Burano. The distinct colorful houses in this small island town were used to help sailors coming back in the fog determine which house was theirs. To paint a new house in Burano, you must notify the local government, which will then give you a selection of possible colors you’re allowed to paint with. Quite complicated, but definitely an important protocol to keep the island looking colorful and beautiful.

As Murano is popular for its glass-making, Burano is famous for its lace. Stroll through the town and you’ll find countless shops selling locally-made lace.

getting to Burano from venice

To get to the island of Burano, we took the Vaporetto Line 12 (Vaporetto = water-bus) from the Fondamente Nove stop, which comes around every 30 minutes. Tickets cost 7 euros one way, and the ride takes around 30-40 minutes, stopping at the island of Murano in between. To get a good idea of when Vaporettos arrive, download a super helpful app called CheBateo, which provides a time estimate of arrivals for each boat—available on the App Store and Google Play.

Restaurants in Burano serve a wide variety of seafood. We had the spider-crab gnocchi and the more adventurous but equally-delicious squid ink spaghetti. Our verdict? Don’t be daunted by the squid ink and the black color. The spaghetti was actually amazingly-savory and was reminiscent of the seafood pasta we had the previous night.

What’s a visit to Venice without a Gondola ride? Try to go around dusk to catch the sunset and to avoid the harsh midday sunlight.

Go museum-hopping and visit the free-to-enter Museo della Musica, a museum of music focused on displaying ancient instruments (such as the 6-string viola here!)

Remember to fill up on gelato, coffee, and pasta before you leave. Our gelato was from a shop located right off Piazza San Marco called Venchi, which also sells beautifully-wrapped gift boxes of chocolates. We shared two scoops: the rich Crema and the refreshing Fig.

I am the woman under the umbrella.

The Bridge of Sighs received its name because prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice there before they were taken down to their cells.

Venice was by far my favorite city in Italy—possibly one of my favorite cities I’ve ever traveled to. Tired from visiting touristy spots in Rome and Florence, I made an effort to skip touristy attractions such as the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica. Instead, I found that wandering the streets (and even allowing yourself to get lost for a while) was more rewarding and eye-opening. Farewell Venice for now, but I’ll definitely be coming back to you in the future. I’ll be sighing one last time as I get on the train to leave.

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♥ Cindy