Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Venice

The next part of our trip was the main city we traveled to see - Venice! We woke up early on Saturday and took the bus from our hotel to the center of the city.

The first thing we saw was a couple about to get married! I can't think of a better place.



We walked just a little bit into the center and got our first glimpse of the Grand Canal


And a goldola.


We had to walk through a maze of tiny streets


And follow some pretty ghetto signs (there were some nicer ones, but some were spray painted like this)


To find our way to Venice's two main attractions -- Ponte Rialto, it's most famous bridge...


...which offers the best view of the city


and Piazza San Marco, Venice's main square




Home of the beautiful Basilica San Marco


and a ridiculous number of too-friendly pigeons.


After relaxing for a bit and watching the goldolas go by...


(Which are way overpriced, by the way)..


We did some shopping on this street


Where they sold a ton of masks, in honor of Carnevale


Some of which were very interesting...


And others that were very cute!


We also saw wooden toy vendors


The biggest meringues I've ever laid eyes on...


And very detailed marzipan candies.


Next we headed to dinner, where I was reminded of how much I love language barriers (porky mushrooms, anyone?)...


how much I love gnocchi, especially when it's in a cheese sauce...


and how my eyes...


...are bigger than my stomach. I couldn't come close to finishing my hazelnut amaretto sundae, even though it was delicious.


We relaxed next to the canal for a little while after dinner, and soon it was time to head back to the hotel. We had an early morning ahead of us the next day.

So we caught a final glimpse of the beautiful city...


and caught the bus back to our hotel.

My review of Venice? Everyone needs to go there before they die. It is absolutely breathtaking, and contrary to popular belief, it doesn't smell (although I would think it might in July and August, when it's the hottest there.) It is so relaxing there because there aren't a ton of things to see...most of your time is spent walking and admiring the water and views.

In my opinion, the best part of visiting Venice is getting lost in the confusing, narrow streets. :)

The next post will be about our short stint in Padova before we left to come back to Rome!

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