Venice, ah, Venice. We have very nostalgic memories of this "floating city." It has an enchanting aura about it that is hard to put into words. Definitely the most uniquely characteristic and romantic city we have ever visited. Our first day there we did most of the indoor tourist attractions. We visited St. Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace, Museo Correr, and spent a lot of time on St. Mark's Square. There are several cafes that line the square and a few of them have orchestras that compete with each other. One of our favorite things we did was sit on St. Mark's Square, sip cappuccinos and listen to the "dueling" orchestras. Especially at night, it was a wonderful experience, rivaling the Bellagio fountain show in Las Vegas. Preston and I actually gave the upper hand to the St. Mark's Square dueling orchestras! We were planning on a gondola ride but we got held up in our hotel room (Hotel Al Piave is wonderful, by the way, especially Claudio) buying a house! By the time the "deal" on the house was agreed upon, the gondaliers had stopped for the night. And the next day it rained literally all day. So we ended up just walking around and exploring the city in the rain. I know, very movie-esque, huh? Even in seemingly miserable conditions, the beauty and charm of this city was amazing. And even though I never got my gondola ride, I don't think I could have loved the city any more.
Here are some of the highlights...
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| Our first glimpse of the Rialto bridge |
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| The small square next to our hotel |
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| Small canal next to our hotel |
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| St. Mark's Basilica |
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| St. Mark's Square |
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| San Giorgio Maggiore Island |
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| Doge's Palace |
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| More canals with gondolas |
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| Dining canalside night one |
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| One of the orchestras, "dueling" on St. Mark's Square |
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| Accademia Bridge |
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| Building with beautiful frescos |
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| Signing the contract for our house :) |
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