Two days in Venice — East London Mornings

48 hours in Venice

In partnership with Polpo

Would you say no when someone gets in touch and offers to fly to Venice following week to celebrate 10th anniversary of one of your favourite restaurants? Absolutely not. The plan was a one night, two day trip with Russell Norman himself, lots of eating and drinking! Sounds like a dream. In no time I’ve rearranged my plans and was ready to go. We were about to visit all the spots that have inspired Polpo and it’s story, taking everything back to basics - whether that be cichèti tour of famous bàcari: Da Fiore, Rumer, All'Arco, to Caffe Rosso to meet Beti and see the origins of the spritz, tasting the real prosecco, meatballs at All Vedova, a tour of the Rialto Market and dinner at All Testiere.

Those who have been to Venice perfectly know - it can be a tourist trap or an amazing authentic experience if you walk off the beaten track. And Russell was there to show us the latter. Once we landed, our water taxi driver was already waiting for us at the exit (water taxi is seriously the best and quickest way to get from the airport to the city, but may come at a bit higher cost than usual transport). In 20 minutes we were at our hotel jetty - Pensione Seguso, one of just two remaining authentic hotels still run by a family in 5th generation. Don’t expect 5-star hotel luxuries, but authenticity in every detail. Amazing location too!