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!