Venice

Now, back to Venice!

We woke up the second day to sunshine and blue skies. It was the perfect day to see the sights and take in more of the Venetian culture. First stop was St. Mark’s Square and Basilica with a Rick Steve’s Audio Tour.

Then we headed to the Rialto Bridge for lunch on the Grand Canal.

Best dessert I had the WHOLE trip.

After lunch we shopped. I loved all the window displays. This one made me wish we lived somewhere where I could wear fun gloves.

Doge’s Palace was pretty amazing, too!

Is this what my future son will look like one day? Hahahaha

That evening we timed our gondola ride with the sunset and set out for the 45-min ride. I must say, it was probably one of the most romantic things I’ve ever done. Watching the moon, holding Rob’s hand, resting my head on his shoulder, kissing under the Bridge of Sighs, the peaceful water… my heart was on overdrive. Then on our walk to dinner after Rob dipped me in St. Mark’s Square for a kiss and I about passed out from the cheesy, romantic gesture. I really loved it actually.

If you’re ever in Venice, I definitely recommend a gondola ride. Didn’t get the best pictures though, sorry. Still learning to use my camera and wanted to enjoy the ride!

Leaving the next morning was really hard. I wasn’t ready to leave the smell of the ocean, the pebble-stoned alley ways and bridges – the history.

There is only one word I can think of when I look back at our time in Venice.

Venice wasn’t originally in our itinerary, but we re-thought it, scratched Florence and booked two days in Venice instead! And I’m so happy we did. As soon as we arrived I was in love.

It was raining when we arrived via Easy Jet, but we didn’t care the least. We were in VENICE!

As soon as our water taxi dropped us off at St. Mark’s Square, we dropped our luggage off, went mask shopping and grabbed lunch in sandwich row (which was a street over from our hotel).

We checked into our hotel – Albergo Doni. It felt a little haunted to me, with the peeling, warped wall paper, red furniture, dark drapes, and gold accents.

Look at the canal right outside our hotel!

That night we put an extra layer on and set off for a real Venetian dinner – a pub crawl!!!

1st stop – Osteria il Milion: very hungry!

2nd stop – Rosticceria San Bartolomeo: satisfied, enjoying the 1.99 Euro glass of red wine.

3rd stop – Osteria Enoteca ai Rusteghi: ready to mingle! We met the nicest couple from Canada, the husband looked like Christopher Reeves!

4th stop – Osteria al Portego : dessert time, but with more wine.

Last stop – Bacaro Jazz: a funky jazz bar to get us silly ;)

We had so much fun that first night. It was relaxing to stroll, kiss in alley ways, and snuggle under an umbrella.

I didn’t realize how many pictures I took in Venice until I started really going through them. So, I’m going to save day 2 for another post, or you wouldn’t stop scrolling!