Last Night In Venice Was Spent In Lido

As a cost-saving measure of the Venice leg of our 2014 European interlude, we stayed in hotels outside of the city of Venice. On the 3 days before the cruise, we stayed in a moderately-priced hotel in Mestre. After the cruise we had a whole day and one night in Venice before we fly out to Barcelona, via Zurich. And again, we got a hotel outside of the city and this time we booked one in the island of Lido. We were curious about the only spot in Venice that has a beach. That was how we picked Lido.

We stayed in Hotel Riviera in Lido, which is strategically located across the vaporetto station and overlooks the lagoon. Now our room was very nice, third floor if memory serves me right, but no water views. What we have is the view of the courtyard of the church next door. The minute we entered our room, the church bells started ringing, as all church bells do every hour. We were worried that the ringing bells would cause us sleepless night, but we were assured that the bells stop ringing at 9 pm. Whew!

Our friends tagged along with us as we checked in our hotel. We rested a bit, then hit the street. We liked the lively atmosphere of Via Santa Maria Elisabetta, the main thoroughfare of the island. Here next to each other are restaurants, stores, shops, hotels, gelaterias, gyms, bars, etc. Across from our hotel alone is a very lively bar full of 20-something crowd having a noisy good time. Nothing like that in Venice, as we had experienced.

The night was lovely for walking. We looked at storefront displays but did not venture inside, accepted gratefully offers of gelato samples and stopped to read posted menus on restaurant walls.

Now all the excitement of this day had rendered me with a case of photography fatigue. I hardly took any photos of our walk and especially the food we ate when we decided to have a formal sit down dinner at one of the restaurants lining the road.

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The hotel as photographed while sightseeing by vaporetto on day 1.

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More Lido as photographed on day 1.

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Also from day 1.

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Another lovely hotel by the lagoon.

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An impressive hotel seen on a post-meal walk.

After a restful sleep, we awoke very early to go for a walk. It was a Sunday which explains the empty streets. Our target was the beach. Fifteen minutes away according to the front desk clerk. We took the long way, admiring the beauty that is Lido. I was shooting this time around, not as much as usual, but enough I believe. Along the way, I saw these:

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Before returning to the hotel, we decided to stop by the church next door since it was Sunday. I knew that the hotel served breakfast but we didn't expect anything. We were going to be happy with the usual croissant and coffee, but nope. The spread blew my mind for the price we paid for the hotel. The spread was deli meats, eggs, cakes, pastries, pies, breads (so many different kinds to choose from), 3 or 4 kinds of juice, fruits, coffee, tea, and champagne. It was the breakfast buffet of my dream. However, I was embarrassed to take photos of the spread and the individual plates so I sent the husband to take one shot. Just one shot and it did not even do the spread any justice. To top it off, we ate in a room where I was transported to the days of old.

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Before I forget, when we arrived in Lido yesterday, this was the scene that greeted us.

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With this post, the Venice leg of Europe trip ends.

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Comments

  1. Lovely shots! We went to the Lido on a day trip and really enjoyed it.

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  2. Hello, what an awesome end to your trip! The scenery is lovely and the buffet looks wonderful. I love the last sky shot. Thanks for sharing, have a happy weekend ahead!

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  3. Beautiful captures and what a great trip you've had!! Thanks for sharing!! Have a beautiful weekend!!

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  4. what a great trip you had. Lots of fine shots to remember by. It´s wonderful

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  5. Wow, so beautiful. What a great trip. Thanks for sharing these, so inspiring - Someday, lol...
    Maya from Pretty Nails and Tea

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  6. Lovely city scenes and a gorgeous sunset.

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  7. Beautiful - it looks like a perfect walking city.

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  8. Lots of great photos here. I like the one of the rocks and shells! Thanks for the tour.

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  9. Lovely captures! Have a great weekend!

    Shantana

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  10. Wow! Very beautiful. There are Many colorful buildings in Venice. I imagine dishes are very delicious too. Thanks for sharing.

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  11. Wow! Very beautiful. There are Many colorful buildings in Venice. I imagine dishes are very delicious too. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. A fascinating visit in this interesting place. Nice street shots and the buffet would help ruin anyone's diet.

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  13. Wonderful shots of the city. Very colorful.

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  14. Such beautiful pics you take, I love them. Economizing while traveling has a great cumulative effect and in my mind allows you to do more with less.

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  15. A great adventure! I've never thought a view from a hotel room was worth a lot extra, because I'd rather be out walking around seeing it than sitting in my room. Your photos are wonderful .. Really caught the spirit and beauty ....Sunday morning was a good time for photos ... I'll have to remember that!

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  16. Beautiful pictures.. indeed a very beautiful city

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  17. It's so nice your walk in Venice. Amazing series of pictures.
    Happy weekend!

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  18. Love your serie of photos of Venice. All them are just gorgeous!
    Have a lovely Sunday!

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  19. Hi Maria, i am late, i have to review don't want to miss any of your photos. What a wonderful place, i most specially like the plenty and big fish available just ashore. If that is here i will also go fishing most of the time.

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