I recently visited Venice one last time on a cloudy morning in November. As my custom, the train station steps were our meeting spot. My train had arrived 30 minutes before Emma, so I spent the time photographing and absorbing my last day’s views of my favorite sight in Venice. 

Specialty coffee shops in Italy are called Torrefazione. Me and my friends  have a favorite in Venice called Torrefazione Cannaregio, but you can find it on Maps under the name Torrefazione Marchi. It’s right off the main road from the train station, so within a couple minutes we were starting off our day our favorite way: with coffee. 

Of all the times I’ve visited Venice, there’s always been someone to navigate the maze of a city that it is. I’d felt too confused and intimidated  by such a place to navigate even before learning that the city’s layout was designed to confuse intruding armies. 

While making plans with Emma the night before, I learned that Emma felt the same way and wanted me to do the navigating for our day. So while having wifi, I downloaded the Venice map to my Offline Maps app. Finding public wifi is rare in Italy, so if you do not have an unlocked phone or a phone with service, you will want to be on top of planning ahead while you have access to wifi. 

The app is amazing and I highly recommend it. Not only did I feel self-competent in Venice, but even during day trips I later took by myself in Italian cities I didn’t know. 

I never felt so adept as successfully navigating us through the tiny alleys to San Marcos Square. 

The clouds had put the city in a beautiful light for our morning and set the perfect mood for our shoot in San Marcos Square. 

We continued making our way south to our lunch spot. Since we had to cross the Grand Canal, and Emma had never been on a gondola, I took her to a spot where I had found $3 gondola rides to cross the Grand Canal. From San Marcos Square, you just have to follow the water West for about 5-10 minutes to find the gondola docks for crossing the Grand Canal. 

As we started to explore a part of Venice new to us, the clouds cleared. The winters in Italy are characterized by dark cold days and the summers are miserably humid, so I’d suggest visiting in October or at the latest, November. 

We found Oke Pizzeria after a short walk. This spot is a gluten-free restaurant right on the water. It’s difficult to find an Italian restaurant that is gluten-free, as I learned a few weeks previously with Emma as we spent a couple hours just looking for a good spot in Ferrara. This time we did some research the night before while making plans. 

Honestly, it’s difficult to find good food, gluten-free or not, in Venice as there are a lot of tourist traps, so I would highly recommend Oke Pizzeria for good Italian food. I got a seafood pasta because seafood and pasta are both so fresh in Italy. Emma had the gluten-free lasagna and gluten-free tiramisu, off the surprisingly long gluten free menu, both of which are a rare find even at a gluten-free restaurant in Italy, so she and I both loved this place. 

After lunch we headed towards the Rialto Bridge to meet our close Italian friend Marta. We decided to save a few dollars and skip the gondola ride by crossing the Grand Canal over the Ponte dell’Accademia bridge.

We found our way to the Rialto Bridge and Marta. The Rialto Bridge was under construction during this time, as other iconic Italian spots in Rome. I had seen these a couple years before so I wasn’t too upset, but if you are planning a trip to Italy, do some research to be sure that what you want to see will not be under construction, as it would be very disappointing to have been visiting Italy for the first time.

Emma and I now roamed around Venice with Marta, making a stop at Majer for pastries. There are a few of these around Venice so you will be sure to stumble on one. I suggest their Chocolate Orange Cannoli.

I loved seeing Venice through Marta’s eyes since she is a local and being shown her favorite hidden piazzas and canals in the city caused me to feel closer to her. 
   

We made our way to the train station to pick up our friend Rachel on the way to the Jewish  Ghetto for dinner at GAM GAM (another easy find from the train station). 
  

We grabbed seats along the water and ordered the fried artichoke, Mussaka Gam Gam (eggplant layered and baked with ground beef in a tomato house sauce) and the shwarma. Everything was really delicious, and unlike most restaurants in Venice, there wasn’t a cover charge. 
   

It was a perfect last day in Venice. I hope to have shared something helpful to enjoy on your someday visit to Venice.

Rome is one of my favorite cities in Italy. I did one of my first solo trips here a month ago. I was nervous about understanding public transportation in a foreign country, but it was super easy. Upon arrival at the train station, I followed the signs downstairs to the metro, bought a pass at a newsstand on the way, and found the Colloseum within 15 minutes of arriving in Rome.

There’s a metro map on the station wall. It’s helpful to take a picture of it to keep on your phone. The name of the train is always the last station in the direction that it goes.

Traveling alone has never appealed to me, but this day roaming around Rome and seeing all my favorite spots was amazing. I didn’t have to compromise on where to go, or to think about engaging in conversation. I just left my headphones to music in and navigated myself around using the Offline Maps app. While on wifi the day before my trip, I downloaded the Rome map to the app. Finding public wifi or wifi that works is not something to depend on. If anything, you will waste a lot of time and end up frustrated. The best spot for wifi that I’ve found while traveling is Starbucks, but they don’t exist in Italy.

From the Colloseum, it’s an easy to walk to all the main iconic Roman sites which I did my first day. Right around the corner from the Colloseum is the Roma Capitale. I recommend the view of the Roma Capitale from Piazza Venezia.

By walking past the Roma Capitale and behind, you can get to the Jewish Ghetto.

Otherwise, there’s a metro stop for Circo Massimo that’s a beatiful walk along the Circo Massimo park and river to the Jewish Ghetto.

I love finding the Jewish Ghettos in Italian cities. Rome’s is one of my favorites. There’s a Bar del Cappuccino that I love for their iced cappuccinos that this adorable Italian grandpa makes behind the bar.

Largo di Torre Argentina is the location of the ruins of Pompey’s Theater where Julius Caesar was killed. The south street that borders this square are a couple great places for a good, cheap, quick lunch. Panepiù for baguette sandwiches of which I recommend the tuna, tomato and tapenade. Next to it is Pizzeria Florida where my friends recommend the pumpkin bacon pizza.

There was some cute shopping in the Jewish Ghetto in Piazza Benedetto Cairoli, like this boutique BE C.

From the Jewish Ghetto I found my way to an Italian restaurant I had been recommended to: Spaghetteria L’Archetto Pizzeria. Like most touristy Italian cities, it’s hard to find a good authentic Italian place, but this one is definitely that. The outside seating is literally in an alley with the waiters dodging oncoming cars to deliver food.

After my late lunch, on my way to the metro station at the Spanish steps, I made sure to pass by the Trevi Fountain that was just around the corner. Like a lot of Roman monuments this trip, it was under renovation, so if you are planning a trip to Italy, do some research to make sure you are coming at the right time.

The next day, I spent my morning at the Vatican Museum. I took a not so touristy road through a local neighborhood and passed through this park.

The Vatican Museum is one of my top favorite museums so I made it a priority to fit it into my short trip. I love that the ceilings and walls are covered in gold and marble statues and  Michelangelo originals.

That evening I met my friend Jen, who’s more of local having lived in Rome a couple years, and she showed me her favorite spot in Rome. She took me to Villa Borghese Gardens.

We walked through the park to a lookout that Jen said was her favorite spot to watch the sunset: Terrazza del Pincio. It overlooks the city and Piazza del Popolo.

We walked down into the Piazza and then stumbled on a great Italian restaurant. Again, it’s difficult to find a good authentic Italian restaurant in the touristy cities, so this would be another restaurant I’d recommend: da trani. Get the spaghetti alla carbonara. Even my friend said it was the best carbonara she had had since moving to Italy.

The next day, I had plans to meet some Italian friends at the Spanish Steps.

I arrived early so I could get caffeinated at one of the more famous coffee shops in Rome: Antico Caffé Greco. Such shops in Italy usually show in price. The cappuccinos here are €10. There’s a charge for taking a seat, so if you are on a budget, you can stand at the bar, like an Italian usually would. It’s not common to get something for free in Italy, even if you make a mistake on your order, so I was extra surprised and appreciative to receive my cappuccino for free.

A lot of Rome can be seen by walking, so my friends gave me a tour of the city all by foot. We started at the lookout point, this time by early morning light.

We stopped at a local favorite spot called Ginger, and grabbed pineapple ginger juice to go.

Walking the city of Rome to all the main sites is intensive, but it can be done. We walked through the Pantheon piazza and on to the famous Campo de’Fiori.

Here at Campo de’Fiori we stopped to eat. It’s uncommon to find burgers in Italy, and even more so a good one, but my friends knew a spot with great burgers, so if you are in Rome and craving a burger, go to Aristocampo. I believe they actually have locations in other Italian cities as well.

Next we walked through the french piazza Piazza Farnese and on to finish our evening in the city at the Colosseum and Piazza della Madonna dei Monti in a more hipster district of the city.