Oh Venice! You are MAGICAL. Everyone told us that one day would be enough time to see all that you had to offer. I’m not sure a whole week would have been! We were instantly enchanted by this beautiful place. Once we had unloaded our luggage at the Hotel Columbina and spent a good deal too long staring out the window at our view of the “Bridge of Sighs” which was quite literally a stone’s throw from the lobby, we ventured out in the evening light for our first looks at the city. It was GORGEOUS. We walked through the Piazzo San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), ate our weight in macaroons and listened to the sounds of dueling orchestras. It was a perfect introduction to a captivating place.

Miss a stop on our Italian Adventure? Catch up here!
Intro | Positano | Isle of Capri | Florence | Sienna | Venice | Rome

The next morning, we couldn’t wait to explore! The square looked so different in the daylight, but no less enchanting. I made friends with a pigeon that we lovingly named “Clovis.” He and his buddies were more than happy to share my crackers.  We kicked off the morning with a delicious (albeit overpriced) hot chocolate and breakfast quiche at Europe’s first cafe, the Caffè Florian which was right in the main square. The hot chocolate was so rich and thick that we had to wait about a minute for it to pour from it’s pitcher into our anxiously waiting mugs.

Then we were off to get lost among the winding canals. It was photographer heaven, that’s for sure! Along the banks of the Grand Canal, we stumbled on a Venetian street artist creating custom sketches. He asked us what we wanted him to draw and within about 15 minutes we watched our very own masterpiece take shape. (You can actually see the time lapse video here.) We framed it and hung it in our hallway so we can say goodnight to Venice each night as we walk to bed.
When in Venice, you take a gondola ride! It’s a MUST and shows you a totally different perspective of the canals from the water level. Our gondolier was getting a little impatient with us because he kept pointing out interesting landmarks while were were busy taking photos of tiny details and “ordinary” things he didn’t think were very important. What can we saw? It’s the plight of a photographer to notice things that others see as boring. Ha ha!  As we probably already mentioned, we found out we were pregnant with our son the week before our trip. This little gondolier bear was the very first gift we bought for our sweet boy. We also brought along the Arizona Cardinals onesie I used to reveal the news to Ryan so it could have it’s own special photo op overseas.   
Our last looks of the beautiful city from the water taxi taking us to the train station. We truly fell in love with Venice. Here’s hoping we’ll find our way back again one day.

Next stop: Rome!

Miss a stop on our Italian Adventure? Catch up here!
Intro | Positano | Isle of Capri | Florence | Sienna | Venice | Rome