Ending in Venice

The most appropriate way to recap the majority of our time in Venice is simply in photos of some of the sights we took in as we wandered around the city.  There are very few "attractions" in Venice, so we ended the vacation on a relaxing note.  However, I do have a few bits and tips for those of you visiting soon...

As soon as we arrived, I told Eric that it felt like we were in a different country, even though we obviously were in Italy.  I mean, the STREETS are made of WATER.  Even though you obviously know that about Venice, it's hard to get over.

One thing to note is that while Venice is amazing and spectacular and one-of-a-kind, it's not the place to go for a "foodie" vacation. At least not in the traditional, sit-down Italian dinner kind of way. Now, there's nothing wrong with that - it's amazing in a million and one other ways. But if you're like us, and you don't skimp on good food when traveling, you should know that. I think the reason is that in any other city, you can simply walk a few blocks inward and find something non-touristy and local.  Every inch of Venice is pretty much touristy, so it remains a dilemma.

We learned that to find good food we should literally get lost in the streets (easy to do, since they aren't really grid-like), and that we should look for long lines of Italians at walk-up windows.  We did both of those things when we were there and ended up with some pretty good food.  If we had gone off of what guidebooks said, we would have been up a creek canal without a paddle. I mean, most of the restaurants had English menus and pictures attached - and that is a no, ma'am.

With that being said, we really, really enjoyed our time in Venice.  It's a beautiful city, unlike any other in the entire world. Grab a second cup of coffee and enjoy...

From the top of the Rialto Bridge.

View from the Rialto Bridge.

Rialto market. We never buy any of these cheap souvenirs, but I love browsing anyway, ha!

Eric bought me a cameo ring while in Venice (swoon), and in the store across the street from where we bought mine, they had this basset hound cameo. If it wasn't 280 euro, Sarah would have had this coming to her via international airmail. I mean, who WEARS that?!

We finally got lost long enough to find a good lunch spot! And, turns out cameras do crazy things to stripes.

Toward the end of our three days in Venice, we had to stop taking canal shots. Because EVERY canal you cross over is gorgeous, and I just had tons of shots that all looked nearly the same...

But I mean...they ARE pretty, so here you go!

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco.

From the rooftop pool and deck at the Hilton.

From the Rialto Bridge at dusk on our last night.

And that's a wrap folks! We flew out very early the next morning, so we went to another Hilton property closer to the airport for our last night.  We had to be out the door by about 5:15 am, and water buses in Venice just aren't running that early.  Everything went really smoothly, so I wouldn't worry too much if you DO have an early flight out - just prepare for it and make sure you have a way to get across the canal other than by private taxi at 80 euro a pop (compared to 7 euro for a water bus, and you may not be able to even get a private water taxi that early anyway - it IS Italy, after all).

We had the time of our lives, and Eric is already plotting another trip.  I think he likes the planning process just as much as the actual trip!

We have two other trips coming up on the horizon...one to Napa Valley/San Francisco, and one to good ol' NYC.  Can you believe that after all of this travel internationally over the years, I have NEVER been to California, and Eric has NEVER been to New York? Craziness!  If you have any travel tips from vacations or living in those areas, I'm ALL ears!

And so is Pierre...in a more literal sense :)