On our last full day in Italy we decided to take the train to Venice, which was an hour and a half ride from where we were staying. We had heard mixed reviews about Venice, so instead of booking a multi-day trip and risking things not working out, we decided to just check it out for the day since we were so close. It was also 2 days before Jenny's birthday, so we decided to celebrate the occasion in Venice.
On the ride over we had an interesting experience with an elderly couple. We had 4 tickets for the first class cabin, and when we boarded the train we found 4 vacant seats. No problem right? Well...two of these seats had luggage sitting in them (bags belonging to this elderly couple.) Since I don't speak Italian I had a hard time asking them if they would move their luggage so we could sit down. So instead, Megan and I just stood there waiting for them to move their bags. For some reason they didn't get the hint, and I wondered if we would ever sit down. It wasn't until a helpful woman who spoke both English and Italian helped us out and asked the couple if they could move their luggage. Wait...did I say asked? I mean verbally confronted. Then the three of them started arguing about the whole thing. Ahh...those Italians. Anyway, let's talk about Venice.
The city is literally unlike anything we've ever seen. For those of you who haven't been there the city is literally sitting in water. There are avenues connected by bridges, but most of the city is dotted with canals instead of streets. It's amazing. I could tell even the kids were fascinated. Even they understood it was a special place. We walked around several avenues, took the "Water Bus" up and down the Grand Canal, and we even took a "Gondola" ride down some of the quieter canals. Evidently the Gondolas are considered kind of cheesy these days and very touristy, but we didn't care. They're also kind of expensive (100 euros for 45 minutes) but again...it was worth it. It's one of those things you have to do once, and the kids absolutely loved it. It was by far our favorite part of the day. We also checked out the "San Marco Piazza" which is the famous square at the end of the city. The entire city is beautiful, and we're really glad we went there. However, I would say we're going to hold off before going back. We really enjoyed our time there, but the city is tricky to get around in...especially with an 8 year old and a 4 year old. A lot of walking and lots of crowds. I would say it would be perfect if the kids were in their teens.
Anyway, I'm sure we will see many more countries and cities in the future during our stay in Europe, but I can already say one of the highlights of our grand adventure over here is Venice. I'd put it right up there with Paris as one of the most amazing places we've seen over here.
By the way, sorry for the overload of pictures, but Venice is so photogenic. I kind of went crazy.
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