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Woman-only
hostel...
 Cheap,
safe sleeps in Venice! Take the vaporetto to Palanca
stop (address: Giudecca 428), where you will find a
wonderful women-only convent called, Istituto
Canossiano. The nuns are sweet, gentle grandmotherly
types and there is a kitchen, balcony, and laundry facility
at visitors' disposal. We met other women travellers
from all over the world. It was safe, comfortable and
most memorable. P.S. Sheets and blankets were provided,
no credit cards were accepted and doors closed at 10:00
P.M. The cost then was US$15 per night. Tel/fax 041
522 2157
Kiera, Ramey, USA
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Advice
from a local...
I can suggest
a sort of nun "pensione", that works like an hotel.
It's called Istituto Ciliota,
it is near campo Santo Stefano (less than 10 minutes
from San Marco) and is not so expensive and totally
renewed. This former Venetian monastery was originally
founded in 1845. Address: Calle delle Muneghe 2976,
tel: 39 041 520488, fax: 39 0415212730. I believe a
single room costs 60 Euro.
Daniela, Venice, Italy
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Take
a gondola ride...
A
money saving tip! The
American Express office offers hour-long
serenade evening Gondola rides for a fraction of the
cost of the gondola vendors on the docks. We ended up
in the gondola with the accordion player -- there are
4-6 gondolas that go out together -- the gondoliers
all sing. We boarded the gondola while light, and came
back by night. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Denise, Schaumburg, USA
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Great
little hotel in Venice...
The Orion is a tiny
3 star hotel located within 2 minutes of St Marks Square.
The rooms are small but comfortable and all open onto
the hustle and bustle of the narrow streets of the city.
A continental breakfast is included in the room rate
that starts from US$85 for a single. A water taxi is
the most exciting way to arrive from the airport\train
and can be engaged just a short distance from the station
entrance. The ferry is also very close to the railway
entrance. They both drop off passengers at the steps
at St Marks Square. A short walk (less than 5 minutes)
will bring you to The Orion. I have stayed there three
times but also many of my Australian friends and their
friends have stayed there. It is a long way from Sydney
to Venice so I was so pleased that the hotel did not
disappoint anyone. Contact information: Hotel Orion,
San Marco, Spadaria 700A. 30124, Tel: (39-41)522 3053,
Fax: (39-41)523 8866, Website: www.holidaycityeurope.com/orion-venice/
Robin, Sydney, Australia
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Sandwiches
near train station...
When I was researching
my latest Italian guide, I came across Al
Cicheto a tiny restaurant/bar that accepts
cash only. This place in Venice serves fabulous fresh
sandwiches and good homemade food. They cater to the
workers and make just enough so that they run out of
food every day. Calle Misercordia, 367 (exit the train
station, turn left onto Lista Spagna. Calle Misercordia
is the second left turn). Mon-Fri. 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Margo, Best
Budget Hotels in Italy, California, USA
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Solo
experience in Venice...
I am a 58 year old woman who traveled solo to Venice and
had a great time. I stayed at a B&B right around the
corner from St Maria Del Salute Church and attended the
mass honoring St Mary for saving the Venitians from the
plague in the 1500's. I had lunch and dinner in the bars
and the bartenders were all very friendly and it was fun
to watch the locals as they met in the evenings with their
friends. When I needed directions, everyone was super
nice and once when I got lost, I just kept on walking
and finally came full circle from where I'd started. A
great vacation indeed!
I stayed at the B&B, Locanda
Ca' Zose located in a restored 17th
century building. It was right next to St Maria Del
Salute Church in the Dorsoduro district (close to the
vaporetta stop). It is modern, clean and the complimentary
breakfast is very good. The en-suite bathrooms has tiled
floors, heated towel rods, thick towels, a bidet and
complimentary amenities. I felt very comfortable and
safe there. Highly recommended!
P.S. There
are a few floors in this B&B. The female proprietor
carried my luggage up the stairs on check in and down
on checkout. Address: 193/B (Calle del Bastion), Venice
30123, Italy near the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, just
100 meters from the local waterbus stop of Salute (you
can see S. Mark Square across the water) Rates: 95 euro
per night. Website: http://www.hotelcazose.it/inglese/home.htm
Maryann, Texas, USA
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| Women's
words about Venice...
Venice is a wondrous
city of fairest carving,
reflected in gleaming waters
swirled to new patterning by every passing gondola.
(Sylvia Pankhurst, writer,1979)
It is the city of
mirrors, the city of mirages,
 at
once solid and liquid, at once air and stone.
(Erica Jong, New York Times Magazine, 1986)
The trouble is, walking
in Venice becomes compulsive once you start.
Just over the next bridge, you say, and then the next
one beckons.
(Daphne du Marier, Don't Look Now, 1971)
Venice, as a city,
was a foundling, floating upon the waters
like Moses in his basket among the bulrushes.
(Mary McCarthy, Venice Observed, 1956) |
Immersed
in Italian culture...
I like long flights to foreign
destinations. I use that time to slip into the role of
visitor, traveller, tourist and foreigner. I seldom rest
-- I'm preoccupied with observing interactions between
people, getting used to the melody of a new language and
testing the tastes that come with this new territory.
It is Cultural Immersion 101.
The return flight is always
slightly different. Then I am of two minds -- holding
on to the romance of the foreign culture while looking
forward to being home surrounded by what my soul truly
understands.
 I
recently flew Alitalia between
Toronto and Milan and my diary is filled with scribbles
about my inflight observations. I will reread these thoughts
before my next flight to Venice in the fall. This 'looking
back' always helps me get into the mood for my next immersion.
It also reminds me that I better start calorie counting
a week before my Alitalia
departure. Not to do that would be reckless -- my notes
are filled with all the Italian goodies I readily consummed
on board -- red wine, pasta, pizza, Bel Paese cheese and
a special afternoon treat of ice cream. Ah, Italian culture...
(Source: Evelyn Hannon, Editor)
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Back
to GirlTalk Italy...
| The articles in GIRLTALK
Italy have been independently researched
by Journeywoman Online. We thank the Italian
Government Tourist Board and Air
France for sponsoring this female-friendly information.
Together it is our aim to inspire women to visit
Italy and to travel safely and well.
P.S. Did you
know that Charles-de-Gaulle's airport in Paris is
Air France's hub? And from Paris, Air France can
connect you to 10 Italian cities! |
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