LOVE Venice

There are very few cities where after stepping off the train, you are immediately blown away. Venice is one of those cities. It's hard to describe... there are no cars, practically no trees, no grass, very few sidewalks, and the buildings are built right on the water (no beach, just a doorstep straight to waves).

We went over Easter, and did the usual... took a gondola ride (which was amazing), went to St. Mark's square, crossed the Rialto bridge, and saw lots of glass. We have neighbors that spent two years in Venice, so they were kind enough to tell us about the unusual. What stands out is our lunch at the Cipriani Hotel on the island of Torcello. Right off the boat all we saw were weeds, a handful of buildings, and an old church. Not impressed, we started to think we had wasted a day on this plan... right up until the waiter gave us our table. From the outside it looks like nothing. From the outdoor veranda where there are tables set up under vines,

surrounded by gardens, and where you're escorted by men in white tuxedos - it looks amazing. We had everything... the waiter suggested we start off with their signature bellini - yes please! There were menus set if you wanted a full course, from 1st to dessert - yes please! I can't really remember, but I think it took a couple of hours. All the while we just sat, sipping bellinis, enjoying the view. Here's a picture of me doing just that. Loved every minute of it. On our walk out we were in sort of a happy daze, thinking we had just experienced a hidden gem. Then we saw the pictures. The queen of England, Hemingway, past Presidents, Princes Diana, and too many actors to count, all had our same lunch. It suddenly made sense... the woman in front of us had a huge Hermes bag (I was sporting my messenger from Outdoors) and one table over drove up in a gigantic yacht! Our "hidden gem" was probably well known in certain circles (just not ours). Wanting to remember this experience, I asked Ryan to pose for a picture outside the hotel. As you can see, we were ballers.

Here's a little sampling of the rest of our trip. We got lost all the time, but half of it was on purpose. If we didn't have plans, the plan was to walk and find something new. The "streets" were barely big enough for two people to walk side by side. We often used the Rialto bridge to get our bearings straight.

We took a tour of the Doge's Palace. We got to see the ancient weapons used to keep Venice safe, private living quarters of the Doge, old ballrooms, offices of parliament, and a 16th century jail. Ryan and I shared a double headset the whole time - common cord. Ryan liked to tug on it like a leash. That never got old.

We went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum of modern art, which was set up in her private home. The house amazed me just as much as the art. She had a terrace right on the Grand Canal and a private sculpture garden in the back. I had sort of a moment on the porch, thinking it was crazy that I was in Italy, hanging out on a Guggenheim's terrace. That doesn't happen every day.

We ate and drank our way through Venice. We walked off the major streets, went down ones that had less people, and tried to find a place that looked good. We were disappointed once, but other than that the food was great. We'd think we were done for the night, then pass an ice cream shop. Thought we were full, until we saw a bakery. We'd finally head to the hotel, but passed a bar on the way. That's sort of how it went.

One night, our plan was just to ride an open ferry on the Grand Canal. Rain was in the forecast, so I had doubts. Thankfully, Ryan vetoed my protests... turned out to be another great experience. Ryan took pictures every 3 seconds... the views were amazing.

That night we got off at the ferry's last stop. We had spoken to a local a couple of days before who told us this area was "magical." It turns out magic comes in the form of an Asian/Brazilian/Venetian architect/artist. We passed his studio and couldn't resist asking permission to come in (it was Easter Sunday night - his door was obviously only open because of the breeze). We had the most charming conversation with this man, bought a couple of reprints, and walked away feeling that yes, this place was indeed magical.

I hope this video works. Ryan has a better method, but he's asleep. We saw an Italian film tonight on campus and got home late. Anyway, this is a little part of our gondola ride. As you can probably tell, we were loving it.