European Tour: Venice, Italy

Venice was a "short" trip for us...aka only 2 days. It was only a 3 hour bus ride there and back, so convenient compared to some of the other trips we had taken. We stayed in a hotel that was just off San Marco's Square. It was a pretty hotel that had funky chandelier's that were made from the Murano glass that Venice is famous for.

San Marco's Square, looking @ the Basilica

The first thing checked off our tourist to-do list was San Marco's square. It is the lowest point in Venice, so when there is heavy rains or flooding from the sea, this is the first place to flood. There was no flooding when we were there, the only signs of it were what looked like risers (picture what you stood on for chorus in elementary school) that lined the Piazza. They were used to people to walk on when the water got too high in the square.

With the Greek Horses

View from the top of the Basilica

The real Greek Horses

We waited in line to get into St. Mark's Basilica, where I was told to put my sweater on cause showing my shoulders was not allowed. Good thing I brought a sweater, cause no one gave me a heads up about that. I walked through the Basilica, admiring the golden ceilings and all the pretty work throughout the interior of the church. After you make your way through the church, you climb up the steps so you can look out on the balcony which overlooks the square itself. In this picture I'm standing next to the replica of the Greek Horses, the real ones are now inside, protected from the elements. They were brought to the Church in the 1200's...so you can understand them wanting to protect the antiques from rust and decay.

After the Basilica, we were set loose onto the unsuspecting Venice...until dinnertime. I haven't talked much about it until now, but Venice is the perfect time to share my love for gelato. Kathryn and I had made it our personal mission to eat gelato in every city that offered it...which was mainly cities in Switzerland and Italy. Kathryn and I discovered a gelato place right by our hotel that sold "After Eight" gelato. It's basically mint-chocolate-chip made with the After Eight mints, and it's seriously TO DIE FOR. I think in the 2 days I was in Venice I had 3 cups a day. Side note: I was watching the travel channel once I was back in the states and the Gelato place that Kathryn and I loved was on list for "The Best Places to Eat in Venice"...yeah, we know what's up.

Dinner that night was at a nice restaurant, where we had our own room. We amused ourselves by playing with the candles (shown in the pictures)...and laughed really hard. I remember the food being good, but really? It's Italy, of course the food is good! After dinner, we walked around Venice for a little while and found a few coffee shops/bars. We would sit outside at a table and drink whatever beverage was our choice and just enjoy being in Venice.

Ladies and G-Rod in Burano

Burano houses

The next day we took a boat out to some of the surrounding islands in the Venetian Lagoon. The boat was kind of set up like a charter bus, just our group and you could either sit topside or downstairs. The party was definitely downstairs, where we were listening to people's iPods and choreographing dances. The first stop was Burano, which is known for it's really colorful houses. We walked around the island, went into cool little shops that had handmade jewelry and crafts, bought souvenirs and I think we even found a gelato place that was serving at 10 am.

Kathryn and I in Burano

After Burano, we took the boat over to Murano. Murano glass is famous in this part of the world, and I think in others. We got a demonstration on how they form the hot glass into things...our demonstration was a horse. It's amazing to watch something go from an orange (with heat) ball of glass into something that has a recognizable form. The trade is passed down from generation to generation and they are definitely very talented.

After Murano, Torcello was up next. We walked through the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta which had Byzantine architecture all throughout the church. I think our most favorite thing though was the old concrete chair that stood a couple of yards away. It was supposedly Attila the Hun's chair...no idea how they managed to figure that out. But we had a photo shoot (which those pictures are gone) in the chair.

In Attila the Hun's chair

After the photo shoot, we headed over to a restaurant for lunch. Beforehand, G-Rod had asked us whether we wanted the "fish" option or the "non-fish" option. This is where I would like to say that although I am a picky eater, I try to expand my horizons whenever I can. So, having that in mind, I chose the fish option. To start off with, we had a salad, that came with little pieces of raw fish on top. Then we had some sort of fish soup. Not really feeling any of that, but I tried it to say that I did. The thing that pushed me over the edge was when they set a whole fish, eyes and all, down in front of me. I had to walk out of the restaurant and throw up in the bushes...no lie.  Molly was nice enough to share her "non-fish" option with me when I returned to the table.

Girls on the Rialto Bridge

View from Rialto Bridge

After returning from our boat trip, we walked some more around Venice. Trying to find the perfect gifts for people back home and Steph and Kathryn were attempting to find the perfect cannoli...which is hard to find in Venice, since they like to put orange slices in their cannolis. We stopped by the Rialto Bridge to overlook the canal...and take pictures (of course).

That night, a group of decided to take a Gondola ride because you can't go to Venice and not take a Gondola ride. It was a different view of Venice, floating through it's "streets." A lot of the scenes looked like something you would see straight out of a movie. I guess it's less beautiful, or maybe you get used to it if you live there, but it was just weird seeing things like laundry hanging out over people's balconies thrown in with scenes like these.

Getting on to a Gondola takes listening skills. The Gondoler knows exactly how to position everyone so the weight is distributed evenly and no one goes toppling into the water...There's no way I would ever want to go take a swim in the nasty canal water...ick!

Although it smelled funny, and it's seafood cuisine isn't really up my alley, Venice was a beautiful place to visit...and I was fortunate enough that I got a second visit later for Thanksgiving break.

To be continued...Next Up: European Tour: Barcelona