An Anniversary in Venice

For our last big day trip together we decided that spending our wedding anniversary in Venice, one of the most romantic places on earth, would be perfect.

We got up early for our long train ride. It would take us about 2-1/2 hours to get there by Eurostar- the fast train. It was forcast to be in the mid to high 80's, but at least it would be a little cooler than Florence.

The rule in Venice is "get lost". Venice is built upon a group of small bodies of land surrounded by water. So it is filled with lots of small winding streets. If you don't expect to get lost, you will be in for a very disappointing time. Plus, the best way to really get to know this town, and many Italian towns, is to get lost within it's streets.

It didn't take us long to achieve our goal. We were lost within the first few blocks of crossing the main river- The Grand Canal. Maps were helpful in directing us to the right general vicinity, but wondering got us to the best places.

We found many beautiful mask shops as we walked- as the masks for carnival have become a symbol of Venice.

For lunch we found a cute little jazz club/pizzeria with outdoor seating. We were in the middle of a quiet street between beautiful buildings. Such a beautiful setting. We each ordered a pizza, as they told us with the thin crust we would finish a whole one on our own. Not exactly right for me. The food was good, but the pizza was the size of a large frisbee! There was no way I would finish it. Robbie of course didn't let any of his go to waste. We had a wonderful time.

Next we wandered around in search for San Marco. It's not hard to find if you follow the yellow signs posted on the intersections of the buildings. They direct you to the Academia- museum, the Rialto bridge, San Marco, and the train station.

San Marco church was gorgeous. We didn't wait long enough to walk inside, but from the outside you can tell that it is spectacular. It looks like more of a middle eastern palace than a church. It really tells you that Venice has a personality of its own which was strongly influenced by the spice trade.

Pigeons are all around the square, and some people like to feed them and have them land on their shoulders or eat out of their hands. Me... not so much. I think of pigeons as rats with wings- they are GROSS! Sorry, I stayed away from them.

Venice was a beautiful city filled with art and romance. It was a wonderful anniversary that I don't think either of us will ever forget. My only question is how do we top this next year??