Venice

After a long trip through the night to Venice (upon which I got a massive charlie horse but couldn't move without stomping on Mary so I was quite discomforted for some time trapped in a tiny train cabin...), we arrived to one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever laid my eyes upon. It was about 630am and the streets of Venice were vacant and the sun was just starting to emerge. I never imagined that Venice would actually look like the pictures you see in books and on postcards, but it indeed does! The water was beautiful, and the peacefulness of having no way to get around other than on foot or by boat through the canals is quite charming. No traffic, no noise of horns and other such annoyances, no smog in the air from traffic. It was wonderful and I would highly recommend this spot to anyone! I would go back in a heartbeat (assuming I was flying in a plane not being bent up like a pretzel in a train cabin)!

On the first day we checked into our very nice hostel, we had a bedroom all to ourselves complete with a tv, a closet, a sink, pretty much the works! We spent the first day exploring the city and taking lots of pictures of gondolas and the canals. Nearly every shop in Venice is filled with the same things: Typical souvenirs, anything and everything made of glass (especially jewelry), and Venetian masks! The masks were beautiful but I declined on buying one for fear that it would get destroyed on the journey home, not to mention I really have no need to own a Venetian mask...but they were beautiful none the less. We spent a lot of time just enjoying our scenery over scoops of gelato and tinkering around little shops looking for souvenirs and such. (Don't be surprised if you receive something crafted of Venetian glass from me for Christmas!) We ate lunch along the Rialto bridge which is the main footpath over the Grand Canal. All we ate in Venice was pizza and gelato! The pizza (for Uncle Kenny) was fantastic! Everything from red pizza to white to covered in prosciutto or smothered with veggies...so tasty! 

In the evening time we went to the main square in Venice, called San Marco. It was the best part about Venice. There is a big open square flanked by the basilica di San Marco, the Ducal Palace and assorted shops and restaurants. It was everything you would imagine of Italy and more, complete with bands playing music outside and glorious gelato everywhere! So peaceful and nice that we went back the second night too!!

The second day in Venice was highlighted by a trip to the Basilica di San Marco. We paid to go into the museum there which housed fabulous mosaic works that were very ornate. I cannot even imagine if someone tried to construct a project like that in today's day and age with each individual stone laid by hand. There are four very famous bronze horses in the basilica, they used to be on the outside but have been replaced by replicas and the real ones moved inside for preservation. We also got to go out onto the balcony of the Basilica to see some nice views of the square and of course take some fun pictures. We spent the later of the afternoon on a gondola ride! Quite pricey, but I couldn't leave Venice without riding in one. We saw some highlights of Venice including where Casanova lived and some assorted churches which was nice. The gondolas slosh around quite a bit more than I anticipated and the water gets a bit choppy with people scooting around on their speedboats!!

We spent our second night in Venice at the square as well, a nice and relaxing evening in preparation for the hectic and craziness of Rome the next day...