My favorite part of living in London, aside from the pubs, was the availability of low-cost Europe flights. For less than $100 we flew London to Rome, Rome to Venice, and Venice to London. Of course, you have to contend with RyanAir, which is quite lacking in service, but I think the trade-off is worth it.

Of all the places I visited while living in Europe, Venice was definitely one of my favorites. It is, of course, an incredibly beautiful city, and I loved the quirkiness of the place (no cars, just boats. They even have police, ambulance, and UPS boats). The food was amazing, especially when sitting canal-side, and we couldn’t get enough of the gelato so often had it 2-3 times per day. While we went in the summer, when Venice is crowded with tourists, I did not find it to be completely overwhelming. All we had to do was just turn down a few side streets and we would soon find ourselves in a quiet courtyard away from the mass of tourists. The nights were incredibly peaceful as well. When we arrived in Venice late one evening, the entire city seemed to be deserted, and we had to walk for quite awhile to find something for dinner (thankfully we stumbled upon a pizzeria that was closing and sold us their last two slices and a gyro).

One thing we didn’t do, however, was hire a gondola (the boat in the above photo). They were running over 60 euros for less than an hour (and from what I was told that was one of the cheaper rides). Since that was way over our budget, we stick to riding around the canals on the cheaper, but less charming vaporetti (water buses).

Yes, Venice again. I know it’s quite possibly one of the biggest travel cliches out there, but I adored this city. We spent a few days here during our holidays in Italy, after visiting Rome. This is the Grand Canal, the major water-traffic corridor in the city. You can take either the water buses (vaporetti) or gondolas. Since the gondolas were way out of our price range, we stuck to the public transportation. The canal is is 3,800 m long, 30–90 m wide, with an average depth of five meters (16.5 ft). The buildings that line the banks of the Grand Canal date from the 13th to the 18th century. We had an excellent lunch at a nice little cafe along the canal and loved watching the boats go by as we chowed down on pizza. Since boats are the main form of transportation in Venice, there are ambulance speedboats, police speedboats, mail boats, and even UPS boats so the locals can receive their packages.

The above structure is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, originally built in the year 141. It is currently in the Roman Forum area in the center of of Rome, and contains a number of ancient structures dating back to Rome’s heyday as an empire. Along with the Colosseum and Vatican, the Forum will certainly be on the itinerary of whatever tours to Italy you might take.

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was built by Emperor Antoninus Pius and was initially dedicated to his deceased wife, Faustina the Elder. When Antoninus Pius died in 161, the temple was re-dedicated to Antoninus and Faustina at the behest of his successor, Marcus Aurelius. It was later converted to a Roman Catholic church, known as San Lorenzo in Miranda, sometime in the 7th century.

I visited the Forum while on a trip to Rome and Venice in 2005. While I would love to go back someday, I would prefer one of the Italy tours that focuses on the countryside, perhaps in Tuscany.

The above photo is of St. Peter’s Square, located in the Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome, Italy. The Vatican was one of the first places we visited while in Rome since it was located just a few blocks from the apartment we were renting.

When people ask me for travel advice, one of my most frequent recommendations is to rent an apartment in whatever city you are visiting, especially if you are travelling with a group in one of the more expensive Western European cities (or Eastern Europe, where the majority of my apartment rentals have been). Rome apartments are quite plentiful and extremely well-priced when compared to hotels. Our apartment was very spacious, located in a secure pre-war building with a lovely courtyard, and just steps from the Vatican and many excellent restaurants. Of course, the apartment included a full kitchen so that we could pick up some groceries at the nearby store and save money by having one of our daily meals at the apartment. I much prefer renting apartments to staying in hotels because you get a greater feel for what life is like in the city – something you don’t typically encounter at many of the sterile-like hotels that most tourists frequent. And, of course, the best thing is the price – the money you save by renting an apartment can be well-spent at the local restaurants and pubs!

Well, the cops in Venice, Italy have to get around somehow, don’t they? If you are interested in seeing more Venice workboats, check out this previous post I wrote.

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of this place. The Colosseum was completed in 80 AD and is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. In its heyday, the Colosseum could seat up to 50,000 spectators, who would attend events ranging from gladiator contests to executions. Today, it is one of Rome’s largest tourist attractions and admission will set you back 15.50 euros (around $20). Amusingly, that is the same price we paid for our Venice flights out of Rome.

The underground structure (hypogeum) you see in the photo was where event participants (including animals) waited until they were brought onto the arena floor.

A canal in Venice, Italy. One of the great things about living in London was the availability of cheap holidays. We flew to Rome and Venice for less than $100 and stayed in cheap apartments and B&B’s.

Definitely one of the coolest ambulances I’ve come across. With no cars in Venice, how else would you get to the hospital? By boat, of course. For more workboats of Venice, check this out.

An amusing fountain at the Vatican, seen on a June 2005 trip to Italy.

This is perhaps the biggest travel cliché imaginable, but I absolutely adored Venice. The scenery was incredibly beautiful, the food amazing, and the locals very warm and welcoming. And although we went in late June, at the height of tourist season, we had no problems escaping the crowds that seemed to gravitate towards Piazza San Marco and its nearby stores and restaurants. It was a welcome change from the hellish atmosphere of Rome.

While most people think of gondolas as the most prevalent form of transportation in Venice, the canals are, in fact, traversed by a variety of less glamorous – but equally fascinating – boats. Cars are not allowed in Venice, so everything, from delivering mail to hauling construction equipment, must be done by boat. Here are a few of the boats that get the job done.

The ACTV waterbus: Venetian mass transit. Sure beats the hell out of the DC metro.

Delivering restaurant supplies

Garbage collection.

Mail delivery

The UPS boat. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of the FedEx boat.

Cops. They should make a show like “CHiPs”, but based in Venice.

Ambulance

Construction crew. This boat is the Venetian equivalent of an F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab.

Once the products are offloaded, they are delivered to their destination via handtrucks. I do not envy this guy’s job.