On our last day, it was very stormy. We ducked inside Tentazioni and I had my very last favorite hot drink: hot chocolate. I felt sad about leaving certain things: spritz, open bars everywhere, hot chocolate, gelato, eating cappucino with a spoon cause the foam is made  right consistently, everywhere. Today was the final day to eat all these things.

IMG_5702 IMG_5704Next to Tentazioni, there’s a Muji. It’s one of my favorite shops to frequent in Europe. Most of it is made in China, with other goods imported elsewhere. It’s a lifestyle store with highly organized satchels, good quality clothing and lots of organizational things for your house. I bought myself a cape, a scarf, a pair of smartphone gloves, a pair of slippers and stationary. The price isn’t too high, as I recall paying around 80 euros for all of these items.

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Later we ducked into another snack bar and had little tuna sandwiches, and cake and spritz for our finale. You do not know how much I miss going just anywhere to have a nice cup of Spritz and tea and cake. I feel like its a more formal affair in Vancouver. Though I am a big fan of going to Breka Bakery here at home and it’s my best spot to chill out and not spend over $10 in Vancouver.

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It was super stormy and the streets were littered with umbrellas. I was getting mad at the tourists for just chucking their stupid umbrellas everywhere. We went into the Guggenheim Museum. It was fantastic – I got to see lots of artists I learnt about at Emily Carr University in person. It blows my mind to see something I’ve otherwise seen in a textbook right infront of me. We had another round of Spritz. My fiance proposed to me in the Gazebo depicted above, in the courtyard of the Guggenheim. Look at that guy smile. We were going to celebrate in St. Mark’s Square, but it was too stormy for us to handle a boat ride. Instead, we went to our hotel, Hotel Papadopoli. We were frequenting the lounge previously and really loved their service, so we excited rather than disappointed to have not gone to St. Mark’s Square. (If we had gone to the Square, we would have gone to a nice restaurant called ABC Quadri)
IMG_5720 We started with a nice red wine and sparkling water. They served us garlic butter and bread.IMG_5721 IMG_5722We got a salmon appetizer for the both of us. It was simple and light, it almost just prepped our palates while being a delicious slice of fish.
IMG_5724These were our first courses. Josh had a bocconcini salad and I had polenta with a fish puree. I’ve never been a fan of polenta, but this was the best I’ve ever had. The shrimp from the lagoon on top dressing the polenta made the perfect pair.

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Keeping to eating the delicious seafood here, Josh ordered this light pasta and I ordered this heavy, deep fried dish of every sea creature imaginable. It was fantastic. Though, I didn’t translate well that everything would be deep fried. We ended up sharing our two plates because I couldn’t finish this deep fried plate myself.IMG_5738 IMG_5742Prior to Italy, I’ve never had tiramisu. I’m not kidding. I had tiramisu once or twice before I had it during this dinner and I can’t get enough of it. Where has this cake been all my life? Clearly I was blindsighted by my cake lover, chocolate cake.

It was a nice end to our trip, despite the rainy weather. The hotels in Venice seem to keep to a high standard. I mean, a couple days ago I was at a “palace” (The Gritti), so the hotel culture is pretty upscale here. Again, you can stay at Hotel Papadopoli relatively cheap during the off-season. We had fantastic service, a very clean and comfortable room and all the amenities were around. I would recommend them to anyone visiting the city.

On our way back home, we had to stop over at Heathrow. I can see why everyone back home gives this place a shake of a head. What a busy, loud, crowded airport with no place to sit or a quiet zone to peace out in between travel. I was being brutually honest with the survey person, who shook his head and laughed and said my response was common. Also, this airport is pricey. I had a bowl of ramen and Josh had a bowl of pho, and it converted itself into $70 Canadian. It was subpar to Vancouver’s standards and I mean, anything will be because of our culture, but it was definitely not worth the gourmet price. I am also not bothering to review them and possibly eliciting a comment back, ha! Just avoid the airport and pack granola bars for the love of God. No: actually, try not to stop at Heathrow if you can.

 
Read More About Nathalie’s Time in Italy:

Part 1: Venice, Italy
Part 2: Venice, Italy
Part 3: Art in Venice
Part 4: Florence, Italy
Part 5/6: Venice x Heathrow

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