If I had a million dollars (or euros) to spent at BF Signoretti Glass, I STILL would have trouble…read moredeciding what to buy! I love art glass and many of the pieces I saw make my heart flutter. WARNING: There are many glass galleries you can go to on the island of Murano under the umbrella of Murano Venetian Glass Center, and the quality of these places vary unbelievably from cheap tourist glass to art museum quality. So the turn "Murano Glass" doesn't really mean anything. However, BF Signoretti Glass Factory produces the highest quality Murano Glass, and it ranks as one of the world's top art glass producer. We were able to find them based on the recommendation of a local company. We spend a good three hours there because it was like a trip to a museum. Our guide (OK, salesman) was very, very low key in terms of sales and very helpful in guiding us through at least a dozen different showrooms. At NO point, did we feel pressure to buy anything. We started with a demonstration, as well as actual creation of the parts of a chandelier they were making. The craftmanship was outstanding, led by owner and artisan Alex Signoretti. We also had a demonstration of creating a small horse that only took only (and exactly) two minutes from beginning to end. However, the pieces they sell take sometimes months of work to create. We honestly had no intention of buying anything because I wanted to go because I just love looking at art glass. However, in the end, we wound up being a small cobalt blue vase, as well as four drinking glasses. It was shipped from Italy to our house (no charge) and arrived in perfect condition. Even if you don't intend to buy anything, if you like art glass, this is a most worthwhile 10 to 15 minute boat ride away from Venice. It's an experience I will never forget! We were not allowed to take photos in the showrooms, but their website has many great examples. I recommend looking at this page in particular: https://bfsignoretti.com/en/collections/.

ESCAPETHEROOMers are in Venice, my favorite city in Italy! Although we are only here for a few…read morehours, we had to check out the only escape room in Venice (close to the port area) - "Escape Venice"! Transportation in Venice is quite tricky. We discovered the People Mover (a train with 3 stops) was quite easy to use to get us from the cruise port to the main hub. We strongly suggest you store your luggage at one of the storage units at the Piazzale Roma station and walk everywhere. There's a lot of bridges with stairs and pebble stone walkways. Water taxis are quite expensive and if not necessary, walking is the best option in the port area. It was quite convenient to use the bus from the central bus station to the airport afterwards. We'll have a tutorial of this in our travel vlog of Venice soon. As we walked about 15 minutes or so in the meandering roads of Venice (we used Google maps), it would be a bit difficult to find if you didn't have pre-printed directions. We stopped pretty much every few steps as the views of the canals, small boutique cafes, and magnificent structures can be seen from every corner of our eyes. As you approach on to the right street it's on (which turns into a dead end), turn right and you'll reach an ancient door (you CAN'T miss it). The room that we are trying - "The Merchant of Venice" is inspired by Shakespeare's comedy. We loved how the game started and how we were immediately absorbed into the storyline. As we stood in Shylock's studio in the times of Serenissima Republic, we had to get to work to find the hidden treasure right away. Given how much space they had to work with, I think they did a great job utilizing all that they can. The props and set design felt authentic from the actual time frame. I must say, I have never seen so many puzzle locks in my life! If you love puzzles and love to open locks, this room is your sweet spot! The clarity of clues to the actual puzzle was great and easy to follow. It's not all linear so groups can work on different puzzles at the same time but there will be a point it does become quite linear. We had a minor issue with one mechanism in the room, but I think it also had to do with us being not locals and knowing their culture. They definitely added a few puzzles that had their local flavor and history to it. The owner did give us a few minutes extra to finish the room as we did spend some time at the beginning with filming and this room is pretty challenging with just two people. Our recommended size would be 4 people due to the room size and the number of puzzles especially if you are not experienced players. This room definitely gave my brain a workout as I slept like a baby on the plane ride back to NY feeling quite satisfied. It was a great way to finish our Europe tour. As we dived into the escape room owner's history, we now understand where a lot of these ideas of the puzzles comes from. One of the owners is the President and the other is on the executive board of the Escape Room ASD which is a Chess, Checkers and Go club. Members of this club will get a 5-euro discount when playing this game. Currently they are working on something that might take the escape hunt outside of the escape rooms. We can't wait to see what they create and next time we will definitely stay longer in Venice and take up the challenge! *For more info, check out my Yelp profile.

In the woods, up a windy road, this 'human powered' amusement park is worth the drive. It's fun…read morefor children and adults alike. Just bring along your sense of adventure and fun! The park opens at 10:30, and we arrived shortly after that, but the parking lot was almost already full, so come early. Parking is under the trees, nice on a hot summers day, and there are plenty of waste bins throughout the parking area for soda cans and the like. We brought along some bottled water and fruit for a quick snack between rides. We visited in August when the restaurant was not open. A few people brought their own food and when we first arrived, there was a stack of cardboard on the bar that people were writing their names on and the number of people in their party - then they set these on a table to 'reserve' it for their lunch. The bar was open a little before lunch time and the line for drinks and fries, the only 'food' item we saw, was very, very long. I can not say what food was actually available, but check their website for restaurant times. The park is in several sections, all under the trees. Directly behind the restaurant begins with trampoline, swings and slides of many sizes from small child to several stories up. All the rides take some man power. Many are easy, a few require a LOT of strength. To the side of the restaurant are a few more rides and play areas. Although there were many people in the park it never felt crowded and we hardly had to wait for any ride. The largest slide requires a bit of rug beneath you to assist in the decent. I found the small rug samples provided would slip out from under and I got a bit of a friction burn on my arm trying to control the decent without the carpet. You get some speed on that slide. The one on the far left seems to be the fastest ride down! If you happen to have a small, narrow carpet you can bring for this ride I recommend you do so. Most of us 'lost' our carpet on the way down! Some of the more adventurous rides required the assistance of a staff member and were not open during our visit. We spent about 2 hours in the park. It was a lot of fun and we adults felt like kids again. I was a bit sore the next day from using muscles I hadn't in a while, but it was all good fun and totally worth the trip!

Date of tour: May 28, 2025…read more Love, love, love Anna and this tour! When it comes to a food tour, the guide is as important (if not more) as the stops on the tour and the food that is featured. A great guide makes or breaks a tour and Anna did a wonderful job. She has clearly cultivated a relationship with these vendors and takes the time to talk about the backgrounds of the food, of the restaurants and bars, creating a rich, vibrant story. Our tour happened to be entirely comprised of Americans, though given it's an English tour, that should not be all that surprising. It was a wonderful group of people that we enjoyed spending nearly three hours with--that's also important but certainly out of the hands of the tour and more just luck of the draw! The description on the Viator website didn't quite match the tour, but Anna did such a great job that I have no complaints there. We really got a great sense of Venezia from the tour and it was so sad to part ways with the group when it was time to say goodbye. Highlights on the tour: Meat croquette, calamari, shrimp pasta, and the mac and cheese balls. Definitely look for this Eat Like a Local Tour in Venice, you won't regret it!

I had an amazing time on on the Eat Like a Local tour. I learned so much about how Italians eat,…read moreand the difference between local food and tourist traps. I tried wines I hadn't heard of, cafe corecto, pastry, gelato, many different types of cicchetti, and the best prosciutto and balsamic. Martina was an amazing guide! I felt very welcome doing this tour as a solo traveler.

Had a great time at Maria's Cookery Course. The grounds were well maintained and staff very…read morehospitable. We took the train from Venice and not only did we have a great time , it was a perfect change of venue. If you would love a quiet place to sit on the porch, drink vino, and cook often, this is your place. For me personally the one day was enough, I suffer from the go go go syndrome.

This is one of the most incredible experiences you could ask for. If you are a foodie or just enjoy…read moreamazing food and incredible history, you need to book a class with Lucas! He has scheduled classes as well as private classes. I've done both and it fabulous to be with friends, cook, and eat delicious food. It's also equally enjoyable to meet travelers and make new acquaintances. His place is located in the old wall of the Vicenza Castle. The art on his dining room ceiling dates back to the 700's. Your senses come alive when you arrive and start to walk up the old stairs to his flat. Lucas will walk you through several courses and if it's a private class he is able to cater to your dietary needs. Recently we made an incredible meal. We started with his Lentil soup with chestnuts. It was mouth watering divine. I went home and recreated that night. While the soup was cooking we started the pasta, desert, and fish. We boiled pealed pears in a wine sauce, made homemade pasta, and enjoyed a salmon filet covered in our choice of veggies and mussels and cooked in parchment paper. He served the pairs with gelato and cream. It is an out-of-this-world experience! Plan for a minimum of 4 hours and approximately 35euro per person. You won't regret the experience. He will also provide a bottle of wine, but it's fun to bring a wine to share.

This is a great way to spend a day in Italy! Lucas is a great chef and teacher, and makes it fun to…read morecraft an incredibly delicious meal from scratch. This was one of our favorite things from our vacation. Do it!

Two weeks in Italy and the absolute highlight was our day with Chef Michele. I had seen the…read moreamazing reviews so it was an easy decision to make a deposit. We booked the experience about 4 or 5 months in advance of our visit and glad we did. He books up early and for good reason! The booking was for my husband and I (and I love to cook) and our two kids aged 11 and 8. We opted to meet him at the market where we shopped together for ingredients for our meal - we visited a butcher, the fish market and the fruit and vegetable market. We also visited a spice shop together. He let us decide which two pastas we'd make and it was largely based on what we found in the vegetable market that morning in addition to our personal preferences. We ultimately decided on: - Squash and Porcini Gnocchi - Linguine Bolognese - Bruschetta - Chocolate/Vanilla swirled Gelato As we walked to his home (about 10-15 mins away) after shopping, he pointed out his favorite sandwich and gelato shops, taught us about cicchetti and where to find it, and so much more. We made mental notes and the next day returned to his favorite places for great snacks and bites and gelato! The day totally exceeded our expectations. It was a great cooking class, my kids loved all the hands-on time making pastas or learning to make gelato, and the end result was an incredible meal! He has a very seamless way of teaching you, but also allowing you to relax and watch to fully enjoy the day. But it was so much more than cooking - Chef Michele is very warm and personable - he is a father and was good with our kids. He is full of fascinating information about Italy and Venice. His home is gorgeous and full of so much history. We talked about his experiences over 30+ years as a professional chef, his family, and our shared enjoyment of food, history, travel. It was an amazing experience. Our kids still say it is the best part of their two-week trip to Italy (and they enjoyed a lot of fun stuff in those two weeks). Only downside to the class is that now my family has expectations that I'll be able to recreate what Chef Michele taught us! I hope I can!

Michele offers many different options. Whichever one you choose you won't be disappointed. This was…read moreone of the most memorable parts of our trip. We would have never seen the markets or understood the history and culture associated with their locations etc if it weren't for Michele. He took us to his home, taught us how to prepare authentic food and we ate it. Beyond an incredible experience. You must book with him! I emailed him options. He is so kind, genuine, and talented to say the least.

My family (two adults and two girls, ages 14 and 11) spent a week in Venice in January. We reached…read moreout to Chef Isa a couple of weeks prior to our trip and booked a custom, four-hour cooking class. It was the ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT of our trip! (And not just for us -- the girls have been telling everyone about their favorite experience in Italy!) Chef Isa and her husband Stefano treated us like family and honored guests in addition to students at their school. Communications prior to our arrival were really clear and ensured that we knew exactly what to expect and how to get to the location. They also got us excited, as we were able to choose options for our class -- pasta sauce and gelato flavor. :) When we arrived, we were welcomed warmly, and we really appreciated how they set up their space. We felt like we had everything we needed at our fingertips. Our custom course included making pasta and sauce, saltimbocca, and gelato. There was also a bonus! They taught us focaccia style pizza! Plus, they had a lovely meat and cheese tray, wine, and soda for all of us. We definitely left feeling full, between the extras they provided and the food we prepared and ate along the way. When we returned to the US, our daughters immediately starting asking when we could use our new skills, so we have already spent time making pasta from scratch, and we are up to three kinds of gelato. (Chef Isa sent a cookbook after our event with a ton of family gelato recipes. I personally recommend the limoncello flavor!) We cannot say enough positive about our experiences with Chef Isa and Stefano. We definitely want to do this again the next time we are in Venice!

We had a fantastic experience with Mama Isa and Stefano - so much fun and we learned a lot about…read morethe history of food, regional / cultural differences, new cheese and wine, and of course, how to make the best ravioli and gelato! We really appreciated how accessible the class was so that we could see ourselves making these recipes at home. Mama Isa was very flexible and accommodating with our schedule (booking the night before) and dietary needs (vegetarian), which we really appreciated. They were incredible hosts and we felt like we were part of their family for the day. We would 100% recommend Mama Isa's class and would definitely take more classes with Mama Isa if/when we visit again in the future!