Venezia

The last stop on our fun filled tour of the beautiful country of Italy was Venezia.

By the Piazza San Marco with all of the gondole

We spent a few hours on a very packed train to get there, and then hauled our luggage onto a vaporetto and then dragged them through the streets to our little B&B, the Ca' Riccio. After we changed, we grabbed another boat and went out to visit the islands of Murano and Burano,which are known for their glass and lace work.

The islands are in the background

It was great to walk around and see all of the little shops. We continued our streak of shopping success, managing to pick up a couple of hand made vases, some linens, and a little blessing dress.

Lisa in the back "alleys" of Venice

That night we got a good dinner recommendation and had a fabulous meal of gnocchi and tagliatelle all'aragosta. After dinner we walked around the Grand Canal and the shops by the Rialto Bridge.

Lisa at the Rialto Bridge

There is so much to see and do in Venice that it was hard to try and cram it all in, in only a few days. We went through a few markets, walked through la Piazza San Marco,

Here we are in the Piazza San Marco

saw the Doge's Palace, walked over many bridges, but most notably il Ponte dei Sospiri. I think the highlight of that day was our ride in a gondola through the back streets and down the Grand Canal. It was amazing to see all of the old buildings that have had to vacate the ground floor due to the water levels. Our gondoliere was great to point out the different styles of architecture and interesting facts about the buildings as well. A gondola ride in Venice, what a great way to end our trip.

Our gondola ride

We started our long trip home from Venice, and from when we checked out of Ca' Riccio, we spent about the next 48 hours traveling. We took a vaporetto to Lido, then a bus/ferry to Pellestrina, and finally another vaporetto to Chioggia. There we were met by Nadia and her daughter Elena and spent the afternoon with them. It was great to see Elena, who was 7 months pregnant at the time, and her husband Cristian. All too soon it was time to depart and they drove us to the train station in Padova where we said goodbye and then waited for our overnight train to Rome. The next morning from Rome we caught our flight home to Rochester via JFK in New York City. Now all we can talk about it wanting to go back. Anyone wants to pay, we'll be tour guides!

Looking out at the Venetian Lagoon