A Father/Daughter Guide based on experience
Step One: Plan to have a ten minute walk to get pastries for breakfast.
Step Two: Head off without any plan because you know there are lovely cafes everywhere.
Step Three: Start walking, soaking in the beauty of Venice, and follow the narrow windy streets until you reach a fork in the road.
Step Four: Randomly choose left, right or straight ahead.
Step Five: Cross every bridge you come across, and when I say every bridge, I mean EVERY bridge so you can stare down the canals mesmerised by how gorgeous they are.
Step Six: Stop at the first gelato you come across. Eat gelato (even though it’s 10am). Forget you were supposed to be buying pastries.
Step Seven: Continue through the streets, flowing with the crowds of tourists, fuelled by the sugar spike in your bloodstream.
Step Eight: Notice that locals are drinking prosecco with cicchetti (little bites of savoury food on sliced bread) and decide you must join them. Eat and drink.
Step Nine: Continue wandering deeper into Venice as your energy from gelato, cicchetti and prosecco slowly wears off.
Step Ten: Notice that your energy has completely depleted. Check google maps and realise you are a long way from home.
Step 11: Try and find a short cut.
Step 12. Realise shortcut ends in a dead end at a canal. Only a short-cut if you have a boat (or are good at swimming).
Step 13: Retrace your steps back to the beginning of the shortcut. Decide to catch a water taxi back.
Step 14: Try to decipher the electronic ticket machine and map written exclusively in Italian. Watch hopelessly as every water taxi travels past in the wrong direction.
Step 15: Give up on the idea of a water taxi and begin the long walk back.
Step 16. Arrive back two and half hours later. Notice that you are feeling peckish and decide to head out for a quick walk to get lunch.
Step 17: Repeat steps 1-15 above.
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