Contrasting My Experiences in Venice: Two Visits Six Years Apart

My first time in Venice was six years ago. Thanks to my job sending me to Paris for three days a few months before, I'd finally opened my eyes to how easy international travel really could be. I needed to take some leave after my recent military deployment to Africa, so I decided to take 15 days and hit a few spots in Europe. It would be my first international solo backpacking trip. I settled on flying into Venice, because I am brand-loyal to American Airlines, and they had good prices, and out of Paris, because I had a lot of Delta points I could use on Air France to come home. Outside of that, I didn't really have a reason for going to Venice outside of the fact that it seemed to be one of those places you just had to go to in Europe. Fast forward to this year, and I found myself in Venice a second time. Jo wanted to go to Italy, a friend was meeting us for about 10 days, and Venice was a great jumping off point into Eastern Europe.

My experiences couldn't have been more different. After 5 days in Venice last year, I was tired and, honestly, a little bored. This year, after only 2 days, I felt like I'd taken it easy and enjoyed the city a lot more, despite not spending as much time and playing tour guide a bit to my friends. When I left the first time, I had this feeling of "meh, ok, been there done that." This time, I was thinking, "If I'm ever back here, I want to do [insert things here]."

So what changed? The city is still more or less the same (although it floods way more now than it did my first time around), the museums haven't substantially shifted their exhibitions, and there are still hoards of tourists everywhere. Sure, I was there in August this time instead of October, but that really only affected the weather. The answer, of course, is me. I'd only just started traveling on my first trip to Venice. Now I've been all over. I was fresh off a deployment back then, so I was exhausted to begin with. Now I'm on a deliberate trip around the world (which is admittedly exhausting in its own way). Back then, I wanted to "do Venice" in one go. Now I seek to hit certain things (preferably in a sort of theme) on each visit.

On my first trip, I did absolutely no planning or research. None. So when I got to Venice, I had no idea how to get to my hostel from the airport, no idea what was worth seeing or doing, or even what getting around the city was like. I was going into it totally blind, and not by accident. I was militantly "I want to just experience it in the moment, not go on some planned holiday." Fast forward six years, and I still don't do a ton of planning, but I do a lot of thinking ahead of time, which helps to alleviate the stress of not knowing what to do.

Last time, I just did the go go go go go of whatever I could find on Google maps. No rhyme or reason. I hit a natural history museum (and got asked if I work there!), the Doge's palace, Harry's bar, a bunch off cathedrals (just quickly in and out), a couple of Vivaldi concerts, an island, the casino, expensive meals, the Naval museum, the Rialto market, St. Mark's Square, a couple of art exhibits, and a lot more, all while being a train ride and a 15 minute walk from my hostel. Everyday, I was wearing myself out in a city that had little, if any, public seating around. I wore myself out tring to see and do everything, but in the end realised that in doing so much I had experienced very little. I was tired and ready to leave by the time the fifth day rolled around.

This time, things were different. Jo and I have a bit of a habit where we just roam a city the afternoon we get in. No plan, no agenda, just exploring on a travel day where we only have half the day. That's what we did with our friend, too. We rode into Venice Saint Lucia, turned left down a popular shopping street, and just went from there. The girls went into shops to look at jewelry, Ventian masks, and dresses while I looked for places to eat dinner along the canal. We didn't have anywhere to be, or really any time to get there (it was almost dinner time), so we just took it easy exploring the city, having a nice meal by the canal, and watching the sunset behind the city with gelato and drinks in hand. The next day, we had already planned to go to some museums (the first Sunday of every month is free), so we did those in a somewhat logical walking order after a nice breakfast at a tucked away cafe. The third day, we hit some sights we wanted to see that didn't have a time limit. A bridge with no rails, the smallest road, the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade library (which is acutally a church converted to a museum), things like that. We even split up so our friend could visit the palace while Jo and I had a drink at one of Hemingway's old haunts.

On our way to the train station, Jo and I commented that even though we'd only spent 2.5 days in Venice, it felt like so much longer, even though we didn't "do" a whole lot. TO me, it felt even longer than the last time I was here. The last time is a blur of museums and long stretches of walking between them. This time is a distinct pattern of memorable experiences taken at a relaxing, manageable, thematic pace. I appreciated this time around much more than my last because of that thematic pace. When I left six years ago, I said that I have been there done that. Even before this trip, I told Jo that I didn't really care to go back, but would if she wanted to. Now, a day after leaving eating breakfast in Trieste, I've been thinking about what I would do if I went back again. Visiting cathedrals with the Chorus Pass, hitting Lido's beaches, venturing out to San Michele, or even maybe going diving in the only ancient city whose natural shallow water barriear meant it didn't need a wall to protect it. Of course, I'd also do plenty of reading at cafes.

Like I said, the two experiences couldn't have been more different. I'm glad I went back, even though I said I didn't want to. I have a new appreication for Venice that I just didn't have before. As a friend from the military (who had lived in Italy on-and-off for several years) told me once, sometimes you just have to slow it down. That's what I learned about Venice. In a city where the tourists just go go go, you need to slow it down and take it all in.