Freestyling in Venice and Greece - How to get around

The smell of pizza, the color of gelato stands on every street, the busy water taxi’s and gondolas making their way down canals, could only mean one thing...We’re in Venice! Two years of saving and 2 weeks of quality time and rest were upon us. Our Greek cruise would get its start in Venice, Italy. This trip was somewhat planned in that we knew where we would sleep each night, but a bit free-styled as we did not pre-arrange any tours. For two pretty calculated people, we were looking forward to figuring things out as we went along. Turns out, this strategy would end up being our favorite vacation of all time! We hope you’ll enjoy the tour and learn a few helpful things along the way if a Venice or Greek cruise is on your bucket list.

First things first...as we arrived at the Venice airport, I looked for a local SIM card option for my phone, a much cheaper way to stay connected. My AT&T account has a feature that allows me to pay $10 per day for phone, texts, and data, but the local Vodaphone SIM card was good for all of Europe and gave us 8gb for only $40 euros. We paid the $10 extra because Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Skype did not count against the 8gb. AT&T is good for Canada and Mexico, but for other parts of the world, I find a local SIM card to always be the best value. Focus on data. For our 2 weeks, 8GB was plenty to surf the web, get emails, post photos on Facebook, and make data calls on WhatsApp & Messenger.

Now for the first adventure...trying to figure out how to get to our hotel in the heart of Venice. Taking a taxi was the obvious choice because there were a ton of them at the airport, but we knew that could be costly so we asked around. For $14 euros, we got on a public bus that took us straight to the main bus station in Venice. It was the number 5 Aerobus. This was a double connected bus with a pivoting center. Sheri and I sat near the pivot point which made juggling our luggage quite a feat for the next 30 minutes. It was well worth the effort as a water taxi would have been $120 EU for a one-way ticket. Knowing what I know now, I would have bought a multi-day public boat and bus combo ticket that included the Aerobus to and from the airport. If you are going to Venice...do this from the start and you will have unlimited travel around Venice at a great value!

So the bus got us most of the way there. Water taxis were taking off everywhere near the bus station when we arrived and were a little intimidating, but we just started asking around for help. We were told to walk across the bridge and down the path, past the train station, and our hotel would be nearby. 

So that “bridge” was about a 50-meter bridge that crossed the Grand Canal and had stairs going up and down both sides. It was pretty hot out so carrying a 70lb suitcase up and down a big bridge would definitely be a workout. Of course, porters were there to carry bags for a fee, but I needed a workout and didn’t want to pay so we carried our bags.

As we crested the bridge, we could see Venice was hopping with people! Thanks to Google and a local data SIM card, we walked right to our hotel. I’m confident we never would have chosen this hotel if it wasn’t for Trip Advisor. The Venice Times Hotel was tucked away down a little, narrow alley and was very unassuming...just a quaint little boutique hotel. Walking in we were greeted by a wonderful staff who gave us the lay of the land in a very concise presentation. I was immediately impressed by two things at this hotel...they gave us a FREE android phone to use during our stay with unlimited data and free calls anywhere around the world! Wow! Who does this? The second thing was that the wet bar fridge that was fully stocked, was completely FREE for the first round of snacks. It was water, sodas, and juice, but still, a nice touch to not charge for these. I could tell this hotel was going to work out great! Trip Advisor has never let me down yet.

People ask me all the time if I get jet-lagged from all my travel. When I say “no” people often wonder how that is possible. “Discipline” is the key! After a long flight, our body was telling us to sleep, but discipline was telling me not to listen, as that would usually mean a short nap that would turn into a sleeping marathon! Since it was only about noon, we decided to lay down for a brief nap. Without discipline, we knew this could have started our body clocks off on the wrong foot. Getting up after an hour nap was pure mind-over-matter because we probably could have slept for 4 or 5 hours! 1 hour proved just right, as we woke up refreshed and ready to explore. We also got a regular night's sleep that night.

We had always seen pictures of the Grand Canal, the gondolas, and water taxis. We were not really sure how big Venice actually was. Would we get lost walking? Would we walk for hours and not reach the end of the canal? Fortunately, our hotel staff let us know we could make the walk from end-to-end in about 30 minutes. A piece of cake right? Well, we still had to wind around on busy little streets, which were many times more like tight alleys where we feared we’d get lost. Between some well-placed signs, and following the crowd, we made our way just fine. You really can’t get too lost in Venice.

It was a little toasty outside, so after getting back to the hotel, we cooled off, then decided to look for a dinner spot. Another inside scoop from the hotel staff directed us to cross the bridge near the hotel and enter into the local side of Venice on the other side of the canal. We were told we’d find a quieter area with some restaurants and shops that were priced more for locals instead of paying high tourist prices. The suggestion paid off and was a very nice evening away from the crowds. We didn’t really have to walk that far to get there. Just cross the bridge and the vibe totally changed. We found a small little Italian restaurant and ordered some lasagna and pizza. Before long, a busking guitarist set up right near our table and gave us what felt like our own private flamingo guitar concert. He was awesome! For dessert, we found a gelato shop which is pretty easy to do. They are everywhere! Pistachio for me and some Mango sorbet for Sheri, and our night was complete!

There was more food to experience, more sites to see, but we were tapped out on Day 1. We were already planning how we’d mix it up on Day 2. Venice could not contain us. Where would we end up? Stay tuned.

Zagreb, Croatia: Beautiful City with a City Center Full of Options

The New Zagreb Airport Terminal

We arrived in Zagreb, Croatia to a brand new airport. Our hosts from the company "GIS Cloud" told us even they were surprised at how nice it was. They took us to our hotel where we quickly checked in and then headed for the town center where the evening temperature was 40 degrees and dropping.

There is something magical when the air is cold, Christmas decorations are going up in the city, and Chestnuts are literally being roasted on an open fire. When we arrived we thought we'd be visiting a small town square, but we were surprised by a massive, bustling city center that must have stretched over a square mile.

The was a small farmers market loaded with local goods like honey, salami, bacon, produce, eggs, lavender, flowers, and what looked like local essential oils. There were endless retail shopping stores and lots of heated street-style restaurants with a variety of food ranging from burgers and pizza to coffee and gelato. We ended up going with a burger which was delicious and some apple cake for dessert. It was a beautiful evening, but we knew we'd need to return the next day to cover the rest of the square.

The next afternoon, we decided to try the local tram. After about a 15-minute wait, we caught the tram right into the city center for about 30 cents each. For comparison, an Uber ride from our hotel was about $3.

We arrived at about 1pm and the temperature was again about 40 degrees. The low that night would be 28. Wearing our heavy jackets, beanies, and gloves, we walked the streets of the center. Since it was Sunday afternoon, many of the shops were closed but there were a few open for business. 

Most of the restaurants were open and at about 3pm, a hot coffee sounded really good. We found a nice cafe and ordered the "large" coffee which was quite a bit smaller than a Starbucks tall. It was really good though and it was nice to get out of the cold for a few minutes. 

We found the vendor who was selling chestnuts that were roasted on an open fire and decided to try some. Sheri put the first one in her mouth and immediately made a face. She said she was going to need a drink of water because they were kind of pasty. She offered me one and I could see what she meant. The chestnut was warm and soft, but it felt like it was swelling inside my mouth with a dry, pasty texture. One was enough for me until we could find some water.

We decided to head back to the hotel and got a workout in at the gym, and then caught Newbreak's video sermon online before heading back to the square for dinner. It was way cheaper to eat dinner in the square than to eat at the hotel, plus the vibe was way better. We ate at a restaurant called Submarina, but it was really more of a burger joint. We carefully picked our table outside so we could sit near a heater. We ordered and split the Smokehouse burger along with some cheese fries that were really tasty. It was a nice day in the city center and if you are ever in Zagreb, you should definitely check it out!

Tomorrow we meet with the GIS software company we use to track and map all of our clean drinking water projects around the world. For me, that is one of my favorite parts of what I do as we get to map and quantify the life changes that take place when people receive clean drinking water systems. We are able to eliminate nearly all of their stomach sickness, keep kids in school more days, keep adults working more days, eliminate the need to purchase purified water, and cut their medical expenses way down! I'm looking forward to finally meeting the Croatian team in person!

Although Zagreb is a really nice, clean city in Croatia, the people that live here tell us that we should come to Croatia in the Summer to experience some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Maybe next time. For now, it was a nice break from the warmth of the Southern California weather to experience the brisk temperatures of Europe in the Fall. I'm hoping Fall will be in full force when we return home to San Diego on Tuesday. I'll be home for 2 1/2 weeks, then off to Liberia, Africa for more clean water adventures in the bush!

Brussels - So much to see. A day is not enough.

What could possibly be better than a beautiful evening in Brussels? Answer: A full day! But that would prove to be "not enough."

Our day began with another brisk walk to the Metro station. The tram was a new adventure last night but now it was the obvious choice for the most affordable and accessible way to get around Brussels. The first thing I noticed in the daylight was that Fall was in full force with beautiful colors throughout the city! 

Photo by Sheri Larson

We were at the end of the tram line and 15 stops later, we reached the heart of the city. The tram line gave us a good look at what I would call "purposeful graffiti." I've seen many city tram lines with random graffiti that is riddled with attempts to grab power or determine territory. In Brussels, graffiti was more of a giving display of artistic expression. There were miles of extensive, beautiful murals. None of them seemed to overlap, but rather shared in a collaborative expression of the diverse gift of life. I found it very refreshing and wished other cities would borrow this idea.

Photo by Sheri Larson

As we exited the tram, the city was just as bustling as the night before. The air was cold enough to see your breath, but still enough that a medium jacket kept us warm. We were excited to see that many more businesses were open in the day. I thought Brussels would be more of a night town, but many businesses close around 7 or 8pm. The chocolate stores were in full force and we went back into a few of them to take care of a few holiday requests.

As we made our way into the Royal Place square, the architecture was even more stunning. I don't think I noticed all of the gold trimmed buildings the night before. It was beautiful in the daylight! 

I found myself wishing we were here two weeks later as we could see all of the Christmas decorations being hung throughout the city and we could tell that Christmas time in Brussels would be a beautiful sight to behold!

Leaving the heart of the city we walked up a large hill to what would turn out to be the museum district. There were majestic buildings with ornate courtyards and scenic lookouts. We were definitely at the highest part of the city which gave us an incredible view back towards the Royal Place. It was worth the walk!

We ventured into one of the museums that featured a collection of rare books. There were 15th century Bibles on display as well as original era "Romeo and Juliet" copies. Even though I couldn't understand much of the placard descriptions, I felt the richness of history on display. The museum was free and I'm so glad we went in.

At the top of this section of the city was a collection of very nice hotels like the Hilton and Marriot. I looked them up on Trip Advisor and found out that they were only 2/3 the price of the hotel we stayed at near the convention center, and WAY nicer. In hindsight, I think I still would have picked the convention center hotel due to its proximity to the EXPO. I can't imagine hauling all our convention gear from the city square area. That said if you come to Brussels and are not here for a convention, consider staying up the hill from the Royal Place. It's about a 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk, but the area is safe and the walk will help your Fitbit. 

Photo by Sheri Larson

We spent a couple of hours at the top of the hill and by now the sun was starting to set. It's amazing the difference in temperature between 2pm and 3:30pm. A slight breeze made us wish we had our heavier jackets instead of the medium ones. As we walked down the hill I could feel my face starting to freeze, not my favorite feeling in the world. 

We really wanted to see a bit more of Brussels so we decided to take the Hop on Hop off bus around the city. Both levels were heated which was nice. Sheri and I have loved this tour in all of the cities we've visited and this one was worth it too. I'd recommend it if you ever come here.

After our bus tour, we made our way back to the square for a hot beverage. Starbucks was the choice and it hit the spot. Our day in Brussels was drawing to a close and we wished we had one more day to explore the Atomium and Mini Europe. Maybe next time. There is so much to see in Europe and one of these days we'd like to see it by train.

Next stop Croatia.