"The world is grand, awfully big and astonishingly beautiful, frequently thrilling."- Dorothy Kilgallen
So, let me tell you something.
Listen up.
I love Venice.
We spent the shortest amount of time in Venice for a number of different reasons. The primary reasons were that we needed more time in the larger cities before it and every single person/travel literature/review said that you do not need too much time in Venice to see it and enjoy it. After conquering Venice, we realized quickly how dead on all of that advice actually was.
We were there 2 nights, and we had just under 2 days to explore and soak it up.
LOVED IT.
Venice just kinda "spoke" to me. I loved the old brick with beat-up-perfectly-distressed shutters. I loved the iron gates that led into little courtyards. I love the mismatched colors from one building to another. I love the bridges. I love the way of life in Venice. I loved the cathedrals. I love all of the above, and them some.
Venice provided us many, many laughs. We were nearly traveling delirious by this point, so that just made things interesting. Venice requires some focus and attention that had left the building by Day 12 of the trip, and with that being said, I will share with you the reaction that Russ threw down to it all in a bit :)
Onto the photos....
Note: all the photos below were taken on our first evening in Venice. It was a blissful walk....then things went downhill. Story to follow photo parade!
This photo below will get doctored up and framed. I love it. Window boxes make me so very happy.
See Russ' fast walking feet? He is over it. Maybe because we are legitimately lost? Perhaps. I am in such a wonderful place at the moment.
And yeah. There is frustration. Right ahead.
"Oh, look honey! Window boxes with cute shutters!" (insert Russ, not even turning around). This is 1.5 hours into the "stroll around town".
"Another door!"-Emily
"That is the 100th door we have seen tonight."-Russ
This is the photo.
So, Russ has this thing where he cannot stand to be lost. He practically explodes (it is cute, and I know when it is coming) when he is lost or feels like he will be lost. The photo below is mid-eruption. Pursed lips. Scowling at a very very bad map of Venice. Angry finger on map. Dehydrated. Hungry. Day 12.
I am happy as a clam at this point. I am in no rush. Yes, it is getting dark and we have no real clue where we are because Venice is laid out kinda funny and since you cannot fix your eyes on any point ahead of you to keep your bearings....it can make you feel like you are in a maze. I do well with being lost and I just let him vent. It was fabulous. Here is what he posted on facebook that evening:
"Famous
last words from my lovely wife: "hey Russ, everyone says you should
just let yourself get lost in Venice" Well 16 churches, 23 bridges, 31
gondolas, 43 back alleys, a cat getting a little ooolala, one
semi-tantrum, and damning Venice to eternity later, we finally arrived
at our destination. Maybe it would not have been so bad if I was not on
day 12 of our trip, hungry, dehydrated, etc. A liter of water, .5L of
beer, and vino made it much better. Ah the wonders of traveling. Can't
wait to see what day 13 has in store."
Awesome, huh? It was one of the funniest moments of the trip. God love that man.
And we found our dinner destination. THANK GOD.
The map made us drink. Who am I kidding. We would have had lots of vino regardless!
Russ being sassy back to me about our adventure....
He got a four finger response back about cleaning up his attitude....clearly his is not taking me seriously.
All smiles after wine and full tummies!
Since we walked the whole city, we found our way back home in no time :)
Ok, so onto our first and only full day in Venice!
The city is just beginning to "wake up". I just find it so fascinating how life is in Venice. Everything is done via boat. No cars in the city at all! Boats of all sizes come in and drop off deliveries for the day. They shout to one another, they even sing, they are always smiling, all the while moving at a fast pace. It is remarkable and so very cool.
There is the produce stand! Full of fresh fruits and veggies!
And a good view of The Grand Canal!
Russ is studying his brand new map! (Lifesaver) When you go to Venice, pay a few Euro's for a good map! It is key. The free ones are about as good as blank piece of paper. The ones you pay for give you the names of every last street and corner...and for that reason....it is worth it!
Above, St. Mark's Square! AMAZING!
So, the pigeons.
This square is chalk full of them. These birds are not stupid. They know the eating is good there, and people want to feed them and take their picture with them. They are well-fed and happy, even though the are the equivalent of a nasty flying rat. They are gross, yes, but we had to take advantage of this super-touristy element of Venice. We cheated the system, and bought a large bag of potato chips to feed them. It was like fly paper. We got attacked by birds! I think the birds knew that we had the good stuff, and they came to us over those with bread. Sorry about that, folks!
Jack Hannah was BFF with the darn birds, naturally.
I just love the kid behind him trying to make the same motions as Russ thinking that alone would attract birds. We shared our chips with him so the birds would show him some love. From there on out, he was in heaven and could not stop giggling.
Getting mauled by birds...
"Come to me my bird friends!"-Russ
This about summarizes my experience! Laughter with a side of uncomfortable-ness. I also wanted to take pictures of me with the birds in the square because we have a photo of my mother doing the exact same thing when she was a little girl! I will put both together one day for sure because I love stuff like that :)
St. Mark's was under restoration on the outside, so it did make the photos of it less pretty :( But it was still wonderful, amazing and gorgeous! We loved the inside of the cathedral! It was magnificent! Very different that many of the other cathedrals we had seen before it, and that made it unique and a stand out!
More of sightseeing time! We went all around town and walked our little legs off!
Picnic by the water :) St. Mark's in the background and Doge's Palance to the right!
More QT with the map....
On top of the Rialto Bridge! We also did some shopping while there, and I bought some amazing Venetian Linens that I love. I will have them forever, and they will always remind me of our perfect trip to Italy. I got one large traditional tablecloth and 2 table runners (they are both neutral two-tone)!
St.Mark's...out of order!
It was hot. We were tired. So we sat by the water and "re-hydrated". And Russ proclaimed, "Day drinking is under rated!". I agree!
Sunburned and hot!
And Russ showing some love to Venice and the Map Debacle of 2k13.
And we saved a special gondola ride for our very last evening in Italy :)
Going through a tiny and very low bridge! How those guys maneuver those long boats is absolutely incredible! He was laying down in the boat while we coasted through!
And one of my favorite pictures from the trip of us :)
Dinner! Cute and busy little restaurant that was delicious!
Ended where I started! The trip began with mussels and ended with them too!
And then, before we knew it....Day 14 came. Time to fly back home :( Our hotel in Venice was perfect! It was more like a little B&B than a hotel. It was small, quiet, in a great location (once we knew where we were!) and the staff were super helpful and always willing to make sure you had a great stay in Venice! And we so did.
We chose to blow our last Euro's on a water taxi to the airport! We had an earlier flight, and this was a fast and effective way to get to the airport....so we took advantage. It was super fun and we got to cruise around Venice in a speedboat for about 45 minutes!
Goodbye Venice!
Back home we go :(
It is safe to say that I loved Venice more than Russ did. It was not his favorite city of the trip! I am so glad we did Venice, and it can be checked off our Italy Bucket List!
