V E N I C E
Our now close knit group arrived in Venice by way of vaporetto and were immediately swept up into the beauty of this floating city with a group gondola adventure within our first few hours of being there. Everywhere we looked there was a beautiful, picture perfect moment. The absence of cars, the abundance of flower boxes and beautiful live music, being surrounded by water, and constantly being surprised by new areas when you thought you knew where you were and where you were going are just a few of the things that made Venice feel so special. ​
When loading into the gondola, the gondolier mistakenly identified our friends Mike & Kristye as "Mom & Dad!" We all had a good laugh and loved getting to know each other. A few of us continued to lovingly refer to them as Mom & Dad throughout the trip!
Group dinner with lots of wine and limoncello! Our waiter told us on the way out we only needed water to shower, and that we all needed to drink more wine!
Aaaaaand a second dinner on our own after some exploring!
After a beautiful breakfast provided by our art-filled and cozy hotel, we met up with our Venetian guide, Elizabeth, who led us on a walking tour and taught us pedestrian etiquette. The city seemed to be waking up with only very few people out and about as tourists staying on the mainland had yet to join us.
Another surprise! While on our morning walk we stepped into the cutest mask making shop and were given a lesson AND a show thanks to the men in our group.
After a little espresso with Stephanie, it was time to wander the narrow streets of Venice and get lost as Rick suggests. We found ourselves in a unique book store, a romantic Venetian restaurant, touring the Doge's Palace, and attending a Vivaldi concert! Just walking from place to place in Venice is an experience in itself. Andiamo!
While at Acqua Alta bookstore, a tourist in front of us asked the cashier, "do you know where the cats are?" She responded hastily and with a justified attitude, "We sell books, not cats!" It seemed many people were there to take an Instagrammable photo on their staircase made of books or see the cats they had heard about on TikTok. We found several postcards & souvenirs here!
Speaking of a photo op...we made a reservation at Al Barbacani for a late lunch but we weren't able to get the coveted canal view. We did however, arrive before the people who had booked it and our waitress went above and beyond by insisting we sit there while she ran outside onto a bridge and took several photos for us. We felt so special! The meal was amazing and the décor was so cozy and artistic.
We highly recommend it!
~Exploring the Doge's Palace~
Above is the view from inside The Bridge of Sighs, where prisoners would stop to get their final glimpse of beautiful Venice before being locked away...*deep sigh*...this was very sad.
A Vivaldi concert in his hometown of Venice-what a delight! As we were making our way to the church venue, we spotted some others in a little more than casual attire. We went with our gut and followed them for about 15 minutes. Sure enough, we ended up in the right place, ha! We were no Lewis & Clark, but we were getting the hang of ditching our phones for real life maps..or people in this case.
Alright, friends. Get ready for the magic. Our second evening in Venice and our final evening in Italy, leaving a beautiful church after being serenaded by strings, heading for St. Mark's Square in search of a sweet treat. Stephanie had already mentioned a couple of times on our journey, "wow, this never happens," in regards to many special things we were able to experience. We were about to step into another.
ACQUA ALTA
The phenomenon that occurs about 100 times a year where waters seeps through the floor of Venice and floods the square. At golden hour, we shucked our shoes, said, "When in Venice..." and waded into St. Mark's Square as the bands half played and half packed up to evade the water.
We were NOT ready to leave Venice! After splashing around and meeting some other Americans from New York doing the same, we walked along the water's edge and marveled at the beauty of the blue water and San Giorgio across the way. We purchased gelatos 19 & 20 and savored them in the middle of St. Mark's. Henry had a slight panic attack when realizing gelato would not be as readily available in the new countries we were getting ready to explore, but we decided 20 was a great number to stop at and danced like no one was watching under the lights of St. Mark's to the music of the dueling bands that had returned to play.
