Venice, I adore you!

We finally reached our last destination of this tour, Venice. Upon arrival it was overcast and dismal, but the city is still breathtaking, and quickly became my favorite city on the trip so far. 


Being a UNESCO protected site, there are no cars or bicycles allowed in the city or on the island, which makes it so much more relaxing to visit and explore. An entirely different pace, much more relaxing that some of the earlier places have been.

We stayed the night at the Hotel Principe, on the Grand Canal. The hotel looked tired and dingy on the outside, as many of the buildings kind of do, but inside it was beautiful and quite luxurious. Our room, on the second floor, looked directly out onto the canal, and onto a world unlike we have ever seen.

Our dinner that night was at the little restaurant two doors down, a lovely Salmon Penne, fallowed by Bass and Salad, and a custard dessert. We were a little concerned about where we were going to stay the next few nights, but walking into the restaurant, someone noticed a vacancy sign in a small hole in the wall doorway. We went to check it out and found a beautiful little hotel, only 16 rooms, with the friendliest lady, who showed us the room we could have at a price of $170 Euro per night, the cheapest I had seen anywhere close in this area. She confirmed it for us on only our word, and we left for dinner more relaxed, knowing where we were going to be, and that it was only two doors down from the Hotel Principe, so we didn't have to drag our bags all over the city looking for our next accommodations!

After dinner we all gathered for an evening tour of Venice. We took a boat over to St Mark's Square, enjoying the sights, smells and most beautiful, the sounds of the square at night, the orchestra that played in front of one of the cafes. The square was fairly quiet, compared to what we found the next day, except for the many peddlars, trying to sell us their roses, spinning night lights, and flying toys. It gets a little frustrating trying to enjoy the experience when you are continually being approached and interrupted by those that I know are trying to make a living, and make their way, but who refuse to back off and take no for an answer.