Vacapedia Vacation Rentals Blog

I’m a big fan of renting a house or apartment on vacation–so much so that I’ve actually bought property in Europe.

What attracts me to living in a village? Well, I’ve just visited Chioggia, an attractive, canal-laced city on the southern edge of the Venetian lagoon. There is one of Italy’s biggest and most admired fish markets in Chioggia, right on a canal. You can see fish for sale fresh off the boat. Expert fishmongers will fillet them for you right in front of your eyes.

You may never have experienced fish this fresh.

My immediate thought as I passed through the amazing market was that I wished I had rented an apartment instead of being cooped up in a hotel, paying an arm and a leg for a seafood dinner when I could have been grilling one of these inexpensive fish myself.

My thoughts on vacation rentals focus on interaction: interaction with the residents of an unfamiliar place and interaction with the raw foods that make up their cuisine. After all, I come from a country that slices up a fish and then puts it in a Styrofoam tray and wraps it up tight so you can’t smell the disgusting odor of rotting fish marinating in its own bacteria for heaven knows how many days. “Good until Friday the 24th” the package gaily announces six days previous. Ick.

Ok, so maybe you don’t like fish. Chioggia has its own famous radicchio you know. Rent a country house outside of the city of Chioggia and veg out if you’d like.