Back in late July of last year, my man and I went on a little Euro Trip. We stopped in Ukraine, did a one day trip to Poland, and moved on to Venice, Paris and London. What an exciting time it was! And I meant to blog the trip right away…but like with everything else I want to blog..I never got to it. So, nine months later, here is VENICE, Italy! I figured better late than never, right? 🙂

We flew into Treviso and took a train into Venice. The entire time, I couldn’t believe it was happening…and still find it hard to believe it happened because Venice is such a DREAM! It’s like no other place in the world..at least no place I’ve ever been to.

We stayed for three days and loved every second of it. We will be back for sure!

Venice, as you know, is a tiny little island that is made up of even smaller little islands that are connected by bridges. It seems like there are as many bridges as there are people..each bridge is unique and so, so beautiful!

The canals are the veins that keep this city together. It’s a bit crazy to wrap my mind around the fact that you don’t drive a car…or bus…or train.

Our amazing bed and breakfast is located somewhere in the back of this valley. We LOVED our B&B. It was cozy, clean, comfortable and very close to everything. We were steps away from the Rialto Bridge, even closer to a wonderful market with fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, fish, etc. When we go back to Venice in the future…we will stay at Ca’Barba B&B for sure!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187870-d1309168-Reviews-Ca_Barba_B_B-Venice_Veneto.html

While Venice is beyond beautiful, it’s also a tourist trap. Most restaurants have a “tourist menu” that is pretty pricey and not worth it. We went out for dinner, but for lunch we bought fruit, prosciutto, cheese, baguette from the market/local shop and enjoyed it all with a bottle of wine by the canal. We’d take our shoes off and let our toes dangle in the canal (I’m sure the water wasn’t very clean, but when in Rome…Or Venice 🙂

Traffic in Venice…

Piazza San Marco. This place is unreal. We walked along a very narrow alley and when we reached the end, what I saw before me took my breath away. The feelings and emotions that I experienced are very difficult to put into words because you simply have to be there. It’s one of those “stand in the middle of the square with your hands stretched out at your sides, turning around and around with your head up” types of moments that you often see on TV. This day happened to be supper hot (100+ F.) but that didn’t stop us from enjoying this and taking it all in. That beautiful church in the background? That’s St. Mark’s basillica. I will post a close up later 🙂

Little tip: Instead of waiting in a VERY long line to go to the top of the San Marco Campanile, take the vaporetto (public ferry) across to Saint George’s Bell Tower. You see the same view (actually even better, since San Marco bell tower is in it:) and breeze through without a line. The admission was something like 6 Euros, which is probably cheaper than the more popular San Marco Campanile.

 

Oh how I miss this…

I’ll give up my Laundromat for this clothesline any day…

The famous Rialto Bridge…

 

The public ferry…MUCH cheaper than the taxi boats!

 

Isn’t this like a dream? This is exactly what dusk in Venice looks like from the Rialto Bridge. Seriously. It’s dreamy, romantic, unreal, like a fantasy and so much more. Can you tell I LOVE Venice? Yeah..just a bit.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post..Part 2 is coming shortly…