Venice

After a great Wednesday night's sleep, some hot showers (something that doesn't happen at our apartment in Rome), and a full breakfast buffet, we set off on the train to Venice. Gary had never been to Venice, so this was truly an adventure (OK, everything is an adventure here, but Gary's been to many of the places we've gone to about 15 years ago). In the train station we got ourselves a map, our 24 hour transport passes and some lunch and we were ready to hit the city. We decided to take the #1 water bus along the Grand Canal which would then take us out to the island of Lido where our hotel was. The #1 stops at each landing, so it's slow and scenic. And also extremely hot in the middle of the afternoon when we were riding it.

As someone who grew up in the dry Arizona heat and has only lived there and in dry Utah, I don't have words to describe the unbearable nature of the hot humidity we experienced in Venice. I think I would have fonder memories of this city if I came back in a different season. Not that I didn't like it, I did. It was just really uncomfortable during the daylight hours. Luckily, it was bearable at night and our a/c in the hotel worked great.

After checking in and cooling down a bit, we rode the water bus back to the Piazza San Marco and began to wander around the city. Walking through the winding narrow roads, lots of shops and gelateria beckoned us, but we actually only went into a few. I loved looking at all the window displays with Murano glass for sale. There were so many beautiful pieces, but we only bought one small flower to display in our shelves at home. (And some beads to share with a few friends.) I wish we had been there early enough to have gone to one of the glass blowing demonstrations, but that's ok--next time (in the spring or fall!) It was here we discovered granita (slushes)--very refreshing! We didn't take a gondolier ride, it would have cost quite a bit (at least 100 euro, about $145) but some of the students who went pooled their money and were able to split it 6 ways. Maren actually loved this city the most--I think if we had been able to spend a week here, she would have been delighted.

It was pretty late by the time we rode the water bus back to Lido, but the views looking back at the city were lovely. That was probably one of the best things we saw. Only rivaled by the view the next morning from the breakfast room in our hotel. The Villa Laguna sits right on the edge of the water, with the restaurant along the windows looking towards the heart of the city (and it was air conditioned). We only had enough time to take a short walk to look at the beach before we had to head to the train station. While walking to the beach, we had to be careful to not be hit by the buses and cars (there are cars and buses on the island of Lido)--how embarrassing to say you got hit by a car in Venice!

top favorites of Venice: Gary--water bus at night and the city view at night AnneMarie--Murano glass and the city view at night Carson--being on a boat and the lack of cars Maren--Murano glass and the gondoliers who were on their cell phones while paddling