The Canals

When folks found out I was going to visit Venice as part of this trip, I heard two things:
1) I LOVE VENICE
and
2) I HATE VENICE

I didn't hear many thoughts that were in between the two. No "meh, Venice is ok", or "Venice is mediocre". Everyone who has visited had one of the two polar opposite opinions. Since Venice was on my bucket list, I was determine to go with an open mind.

My first impression of Venice (after being thrown off the Voyager of the Seas, our home for the last 6 nights) was Piazzale Roma. This is the only place cars, buses and such are allowed on the islands of Venice. If you're going to or from Venice in a motorized vehicle, then Piazzale Roma is as far as you're going. From here you can get the water taxi, a private taxi (boat) or walk.

Here's a tip for my fellow Americanos who may be contemplating going to Venice: pack light. Those bridges are no joke my friends.

This is the little canal that our B&B was on - we ate our european breakfast and drank our cappuccino
sitting along this canal. And that cappuccino? made me want to slap my Keurig and scream "that ain't real coffee!!". I still dream of the cappuccino (and the vino, and other things that end with "o").

I know. It's *exactly* how I dreamed it would be. Maybe even better.

The requisite gondola

Complete with the asshole-ish gondolier (he's pretty and he knew it)

Oh how I adored wandering along the canals. I pinched myself several times - was I really in Venice??

YES. Yes I was!

St Mark's Square

I loved this perspective:

The infamous pigeons



















The winged lion (a symbol of Venice)

The Grand Canal & The Rialto Bridge

You could hire private water taxi to get around

Or enjoy a leisurely (and expensive) gondola ride

We chose to walk or use the public water taxis. 

Sunset in Venice on the Grand Canal 

The Grand Canal at Sunset - how about that lighting? 

If you haven't figured it out yet, I seriously loved Venice. It was more than I'd imagined. Old world charm, amazing architecture, the canals, the boats, the history - incredible. 

I have 2 more posts of Venice for you - one of the wandering/shopping day (wait til you see some of the Murano glass!!), and one just of the architecture. 

And yes, this makes 3 days of posting in a row. I'm on a roll, y'all!!