MILAN/ VENICE DAY 1: B&B WEDDING SERIES

 I'm FINALLY sharing photos from our trip, one post at a time!

In total our trip was 2 weeks, and was like...85% planned. We had flights and places to stay booked- but everything else was kind of a one-day-at-a-time mentality. I know some people feel strongly about having strict itineraries, but after travelling abroad in the past I realized that things happen; people get sick, you miss trains, and missing out on things you've paid for can be a HUGE bummer. These posts will be a series explaining how we went about booking things, and what we did!
If you're travelling to any of these locations and have questions, please comment or email me - I would LOVE to chime in with ideas or tips!

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We flew from New York to Milan on Delta- and we have 0 bad things to say about our flight. Comfy seats. Movies. Food. Free wine. Friendly people. It went by super fast, and we were to Malpensa super quickly.
We chose to fly into Milan because the tickets were insanely cheap. We didn't spend anytime in Milan other than transferring at the train stations, but the cost was too good to pass up. I found these flights on SkyScanner and then booked directly through Delta...it was just a one way ticket, since we flew out of Athens on our way home.

We chose to each carry on a small bag and a backpack, which made it easy to travel since we didn't have to wait at the luggage carousels. 1 carry-on was a rolling bag and 1 was a duffle- so we stacked the duffle on the rolling bag when we walked (or ran) through train stations and airport terminals. This was efficient for the majority of the trip, but for future trips we might search for a second soft sided rolling bag like the one we already have.

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We arrived in Malpensa a little after 8:30 am, got our bearings, and bought tickets for the train that leaves directly from the airport to Milano Centrale. So easy- you can't miss it! Milano Centrale is the big train station in Milan where we caught a connecting train to Venezia Santa Lucia (Venice). There are automated train tickets in all stations, which we chose to use instead of going to ticket windows (with unfriendly ticket attendants). There are always sketchy dudes trying to tell you they'll help you buy tickets from the automated machines- just ignore them. They'll either try and charge you or steal your credit card :)

Here's the train station at Malpensa:

We ended up getting cheap tickets on one of the nice trains with comfy seats and snacks. Just one of the benefits of buying your tickets day of instead of booking in advance!

I was a little apprehensive about the train system only because I had heard mixed reviews about buying tickets beforehand or not- but when we got there it was So. Dang. Easy. The automated machines I mentioned are super user friendly, give clear options, and print tickets out instantly. Once you validate your ticket at the machines by the trains, you're good to go.

If you're travelling to Venice and you're planning on being by the water and the canals - make SURE you book your ticket to Venezia Santa Lucia. The other station, Venezia Mestre is the mainland station, which you don't want!
Here was our view stepping out of the train station in Venice:

We booked an Airbnb in Venice that was amazing. It was a private room & bathroom in a family's apartment- and our host Eugenio was fabulous and completely gave us privacy after giving us the initial tour/rundown of the place. We stayed in Cannaregio which is on the north side of Venice. It was safe, clean, and an easy 20 minute walk to all the major sites in Venice. There were tons of shops and restaurants right near by- so we had everything we needed!

Here's the view from our Airbnb:

Everyone is different, but other than location (duh) we made sure to find an Airbnb that was smoke-free..since EVERYONE in Italy smokes! We also made sure free WiFi was included and that there were no pets.

Building across from the entrance to our Airbnb:

It was overcast, but we didn't mind walking around in our light jackets exploring the canals and old buildings near our place:

Jetlagged, we realized we needed some food, water, and espresso asap so we stopped and got some fresh pasta (served to us by the crankiest man ever - shown below behind Michael:

After dinner we explored the streets some more, eventually ended in the Jewish ghetto- soaking in some history from the buildings and synagogue.

To end the night, we stopped at a bar and enjoyed (more) espresso and an Aperol Spritz. We just watched people bustle about with their pets and kids as the sun went down- it was completely perfect way to ease into the trip!

NEXT TRIP POST: Venice Day 2: Murano & Burano.

Have you been to Venice? What did you love (or not love) about it?

xo, laura

for more B&B Wedding Series posts, go HERE