Venice had long been on my mom’s travel bucket list, so in honor of her 70th birthday the two of us embarked upon a mother-daughter trip to celebrate the milestone properly—with an adventure that was all about living the good life, Venetian style.
STAY
We spent one glorious week as residents of the most perfectly tucked away yet ideally centrally situated Airbnb that became our little oasis from the hustle and bustle of Venice. The cozy second story flat in the San Polo district had canal views and overlooked a quiet square where passersby would often stop and sit for a spell to take advantage of the peaceful perch. You instantly felt a sense of history in the modernized apartment that maintained much of its original bones with exposed brick walls and lopsided floors sloped by the shifts of centuries.
Every morning and evening, we heard the soothing sound of chiming bells from the nearby Basilica di Santa Rosa Gloriosa dei Frari, where we attended a Sunday mass to experience the grand interior. Our Airbnb also neighbored Scuola Grande di San Rocco, now a performing arts venue and equally noted for its collection of Tintoretto paintings. Over the course of the week, we attended two classical music performances in one of its intricately adorned halls. The square in front of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco attracted a regular rotation of street musicians playing cello and violin—so there was no lack of ambiance or culture in our beloved temporary neighborhood!
DO
When you have a whole week to settle into a place and explore it removes the pressure of cramming all of the sights into a few days so you can truly relax and attune to the local rhythms. We quickly developed a daily routine that typically included one or two sightseeing adventures, leisurely lunches and dinners, afternoon siestas and a lot of walking. (We averaged six to seven miles a day depending on what we got up to.)
Our trusted Virtuoso travel advisor Bastian World Travel turned us onto Context Travel’s guided tours and helped us book three different experiences. Their small group tours ranged in size from two to six people and were led by extraordinarily knowledgeable local experts in their respective fields. The first was a two-hour Venice By Boat tour that gave us the lay of the land from the vantage of one of the handsome wood paneled private water taxis. We cruised through small canals and into the Grand Canal with an impromptu stop to take in the view from the top of the Chiesa San Giorgio Maggiore tower, getting to breeze through the Bienniale art exhibitions on our way up.
Another morning we immersed ourselves in Venetian history and architecture on the three-hour St. Mark’s to Rialto walking tour that included expedited entrance to St. Mark’s Basilica. And our final tour was the Wines of Venice and the Veneto, which ended up being a private tour since we were the only two who booked it, making it feel kind of like we rented a local friend for the night. On a Friday evening, our Italian wine sommelier guide brought us to two enotecas off the beaten path in the Cannaregio district. She taught us about the region’s varietals and cuisine through tastings paired to Venetian-style cicchetti (small plates) and Italian cheeses.
When we weren’t on guided tours, we explored on our own, wandering around and visiting art galleries including the intimate Peggy Guggenheim Collection set in her former residence in the Dorsoduro district. Ca’ Pesaro was another highlight, particularly for the special David Hockney portraits exhibition that was part of the Biennale. We took in the cityscape from the top of the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi department store—the roof deck is accessible to the public for no charge and it’s definitely one of the best photo op spots. Of course, we couldn’t leave Venice without taking a 30-minute gondola ride, which was absolutely worth the 80 Euro!
EAT
Our tour guides gave us some excellent recommendations for restaurants frequented by locals, some of which were so popular the only bookings available during our stay were lunch times. That suited us just fine, as we tended to have our most indulgent meals in the afternoons and went for more casual, lighter fare in the evenings. The exception to that was a night we splurged on dinner at Restaurant Do Leoni in the Hotel Londra Palace. The staff pampered us course by course, from our apertifs on the patio overlooking the Grand Canal to the grand finale birthday soufflé surprise for my mother, thanks to Bastian World Travel’s handiwork!
Our favorite meals included exquisite seafood-centric lunches at Antiche Carampane in San Polo, Ristorante Lineadombre in Dorsoduro right on the water and Osteria Anice Stellato in Cannaregio. We also enjoyed the simple pleasure of having morning coffees and pastries in our flat as we watched the morning commuters walk to school and work.
Our entire week in Venice was living la dolce vita every step of the way, and I feel so fortunate to have gotten to share the delicious, soul nourishing experience with my leading lady—my mom. xoxo
