Week Five: Venice

Hello Readers,

We boarded our train in Rome and in a comfortable 3 and some hours we were in Venice. Immediately off the train we were immersed in Venice. We crossed the Grand Canal carrying all our luggage. It was the best walk to a hotel we have ever had. We got semi-lost going to the hotel but we found it and the hotel was in the beautiful Campo Margherita. Venice is a crazy mash of twisty alleys and beautiful canals and it makes finding your way very difficult. There are no straight roads and absolutely no easy directions. Anyway, we found our hotel and it was also wonderful. The owner was there and extremely helpful and friendly and he said that the very best way to see Venice is to just walk. Just wander around and experience it. He said getting lost is part of the experience and after a while you stop thinking of it as being lost and start thinking of it as being in Venice. We found that this was a very true statement. We were famished as we had been on a train for 3+ hours so we headed out to eat. We wandered like we were told and we found a bunch of great little shops and the main, touristy area. We wandered away from there in search of a meal but most places were not open yet. Only the tourists eat meals before 8pm in Venice and we didn't know this so we went to the touristy place right across from our hotel. The food was wonderful and the people were very friendly but we were the only ones there. We ate our meals and had an early night as we were both exhausted from the day.

The next two days we spent just exploring and experiencing Venice. We saw a lot of what it had to offer and did our best to experience it all and we did a good job for just 3 full days but it wasn't enough. You could spend your whole life exploring that town and still find incredible little things you didn't know were there. We saw incredible monuments, beautiful alleys, Carnival inspired masks and clothing, handmade Italian leather goods, gondolas, blown glass, and lit buildings at night shining on the canals. Venice at night is such an experience. The bars and restaurants overflow in to the streets and the people are so jovial and kind. Its the kind of place that is horribly hard to leave. We spent only four days there and truly believe that we left calmer and kinder people. It has an incredible effect.

On our last full day in Venice we took a vaporetto to two of the other islands in the Venetian Marsh. The first island we saw was Murano. Murano is known for the quality and craftsmanship of its blown glass. We walked in and out of hundreds of blown glass studios and stores until we had our fill and hopped onto the next vaporetto to Burano. Burano is an incredibly colorful and relaxed little town. It is historically known for its lace weaving and some of the best woven silks and lace still come from there. It has a deep history of hand crafts and that is still very much alive there. It was one of the most calm and lovely places we have been. The people really make these places what they are. Everyone we met and encountered were wonderful and would go well out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. We took a vaporetto back to the main island of Venice while the sun set and it was a gorgeous, picturesque ending to a beautiful experience. We both look forward to going back before it is gone.

Ciao,

Jeff & Carly

Pictures of Venice: http://imgur.com/a/AFr1D