Venice - Day 1

We landed in Milan and were very excited to start our Italian adventures. We easily managed the train system and made our way to Venice. Here were our first glimpses of the Grand Canal as we caught a vaporetto (water bus) to the Rialto Bridge area, where we were staying.



































































Rialto Bridge:































































vaporetto (public bus)














water taxi - note "taxi" on the flag















We were completely enchanted by Venice. We loved the feel of the city, and the canals and the walkways and bridges - no cars allowed. We arrived at our hotel and were greeted by a very friendly housekeeper who spoke little English but showed us to our room up four merciless (and elevator-less) flights of stairs. When we came back down, the friendly and English-speaking proprietess Georgia welcomed us and checked us in.

After freshening up at the hotel, we went out to explore the city. We had delicious panini for lunch and experienced our first gelato (Tracey: chocolate chip; Bryant: melon, which was an oddly authentic cantelope flavor).
































We made our way to the Piazza San Marco, and people-watched for a while. We went to Cafe Lavena and had some wine at a table on the square, while being serenaded by a traditional orchestra.

























































































After our drink, we walked around the city a lot more, and took a lot more pictures. We found the most mundane things, like laundry on a clothesline, particularly charming in this setting.




































































We capped off the evening with a delicious dinner at Trattoria de Bepi, a restaurant recommended to us by friends and by our trusty Rick Steves' guidebook. We were not disappointed!

Venice - Day 2

We woke up Sunday morning very refreshed, and after breakfast in the room, we attended Mass at Santa Maria de la Fave, a small church very near our hotel. Mass was in the small winter chapel, and we accidentally wound up in the first occupied pew. I was surprised how much of the liturgy and homily I was able to understand. Bryant didn't catch much of it but still found it to be a very enriching experience.

After Mass, we took a complimentary water taxi to the island of Murano to tour the glass factory there.





































































We returned to Venice for lunch, and meandered through the city. In the restaurant, because we were greeted in Italian, I ordered our lunch in Italian and managed to get us delicious sandwiches, even avoiding mayonnaise for Bryant. A few minutes later I heard our waitress speaking competent English to a Canadian couple who sat down at the next table.













We walked back to Piazza San Marco and toured the adjoining Doge's Palace. It was really interesting.



























Bryant at the Bridge of Sighs:













We walked around Venice some more, enjoying its ambience.


















































We selected a restaurant from our trusty Rick Steves' guide book. We had used this guide book for months in planning our trip, and when we asked several friends for their recommendations on Italy cities, hotels, restaurants, and sights, at least four of them referred us to this book as their source of recommendations. So, following Rick Steves' advice, we headed for a charming, canal-side restaurant in the late afternoon to make a dinner reservation for later that night. As we walked through Venice toward the restaurant, with the guidebook literally in my hand, we ran right into Rick Steves himself! He said that he was just returning from making his own dinner reservation at the same restaurant.













Bryant enjoying a before-dinner bicchieri di vino:


















We took a twilight gondola ride with a superb gondolier named Andre. Bryant was impressed with my procurement skills, as I negotiated the price down to an acceptable level. The gondola ride was definitely a highlight of our trip. Andre spoke excellent English and told us great stories about Venice's impressive history, colorful characters, and unique archictecture. His father and grandfather were gondoliers before him.





































































After the gondola ride, we returned to the Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci for our dinner. We enjoyed our meals, especially Bryant's sea bass. We toasted Bryant's godson, baby Rowan, on his baptism day. Our new best friend Rick Steves came up to our table and asked about our meal and our trip thus far.













Photo credit: Rick Steves



























After dinner we walked back to Piazza San Marco to experience it by night. We bought an oil on canvas from an artist there and had a delightful conversation with him. In negotiating the price, he eventually convinced me to compromise in his favor by saying, in English, "You must support the arts!" The orchestras continued to play, and the piazza was a lovely atmosphere.

Venice - Day 3

We started our day once again with breakfast served in our room at the hotel. We then walked across Venice, stopping for (amazingly) my first cappuccino and a delicious hot and savory breakfast pastry. What took us so long? It was fantastic!

We continued on our way and explored the phenomenal church, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. We really enjoyed the experience and the art. These pictures are from inside that church.





































































































We continued our walk across Northern Venice, which had much more residential areas than what we'd seen from Rialto to San Marco. There were also a lot more trees, something we were starting to miss!

















We walked to the Piazzale Roma, crossed a bridge, and suddenly saw dozens of buses and cars. It was an assault to the senses. We picked up our rental car, and began the long drive to Assisi.