Italia Day 1-4: Venezia

Hot on the heals of Amy leaving, we packed our bags to head to Italy for our 2 year anniversary. Our first stop was Venice. I have always wanted to go there since watching it in old films as a child. We left sunshine in Dublin and were at first excited to have sunshine in Venice, but it soon turned into the thunder and lighting with big fat drops of rain. The canals were not too full, and were thankfully not stinky. We stayed right on the canal at one end of town with San Marco Piazza at the other. That was to be our first stop. We followed the signs, and the mass of crowds to the piazza. It is everything I thought it would be. I do hate pigeons though, little flying rats, so the last thing I was going to do was encourage them to come land on me and feed them. I left that to the unsuspecting tourists and small children! We walked the whole piazza listening to the different bands playing in the cafes, walked around Saint Mark's Basillica which of course was under renovation and went through the Doge's Palace.

Over the next few days we saw the Ca' d'Oro right on the Grand Canal and the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo which were architectural must sees. We walked all over trying to tinf the Bovolo since you had to go down so many little alleys. It was hard to get lost in Venice, but very very difficult to find something you are looking for. Literally all signs point you to San Marco or the Piazza Roma. We walked over the three main bridges including the Rialto, and over countless other little bridges. Every street had interest in it. We also took the very touristy gondola ride, since that is a must. How could we go away from Venice and not saw we took one. We took one of the large water taxi's out to the cemetray island. It was packed full of bodies. It was also strange to see pictures of the deceased on almost every tombstone. Interesting for sure. The family crypts were interesting to see too put into the walls. Our last full day we went to see the Jewish Ghetto and just enjoyed the cafes along the canal just turning up any which way street we could find. We spent everyday in Venice just getting lost, and seeing every nook and cranny of it. Knowing that the city is literally crumbling before your eyes, and with the water rising, by the time I ever make it back to Venice, it will be a completely different city. I walked away knowing that I had seen it and lived it.