In the late 1990’s I visited Venice and was in awe of everything and everyone: the history, the architecture, the food, and of course, the natives.

We zoomed in by way of a water taxi, navigating our way across cobblestone streets — don’t even think about wearing high heels, fancy or otherwise — and through crowds of tourists and locals alike. (This was way before the age of social media when selfie sticks became such a serious nuisance that they were finally banned.)

We had coffee at the iconic Caffe Florian which dates back to 1720 (celebrated customers over the years include marquee names like Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, Picasso, Warhol, and Clark Gable) on St. Mark’s Square and lunch al fresco nearby at Caffe Lavena which overlooks Saint Mark’s Basilica.

We also took a gondola ride around the canals, a must do there that’s akin to touring the Eiffel Tower when in Paris or the Coliseum ruins when in Roma.

Whether you want to recreate some Italian magic from a past trip or you’re a super fan of Stanley Tucci’s wildly popular CNN show Searching For Italy (episode 3 of season 2 just dropped by the by), might I humbly suggest La Gondola Providence?

They offer an awesome way to capture some of that special Venetian experience right now without having to hop any flights or stress about what to pack.

Also, if you want to take things to a whole other level, highly recommend grabbing a grilled pizza or two at either Bacaro or Al Forno before or immediately following your gondola ride. (I know, I know, Searching For Italy fans, Stanley’s meals in Venice in episode 1 of the NEW season are all about fish and not pizza, but I’m choosing to ignore that detail.)

The hubs and I took our very first ride in 2016 and it was so enjoyable! In addition to serenading us, our gondolier looped us in on some local history that up to that point, we were completely unaware of.

All in all, it is a fun-tastic afternoon on the water in Providence and I cannot recommend it more, especially if you and your significant other need a break from the same old, same old.

If this sounds like something you’d LOVE to do this spring or summer, definitely take a look at their site: GondolaRI.com.

As always, if you go with La Gondola after reading this, please let them know you were inspired by Patty J and PattyJ.com.

This post has been updated from one that has previously appeared on the site.