Italian Adventure ~ Venice

If Venice is a tourist trap, Oh, that we might be snared in her net! (credit goes to Sam)

We absolutely loved Venice. We heard that some people think it’s just one big tourist trap and way overpriced but we disagreed, at least the way we did it.

After our relaxing night in Malcontenta, we woke up early the next morning and were on the Island before 8:00. Perfect, because it was not crowded with tourists yet.

“So”, we thought, “What first?” I thought and then suggested, “Why not start off the day with a cortisone shot in the bum in some Venetian back alley?”.

Ready for a funny story that would only happen to me? Okay. Well, we needed some breakfast so we picked up some pastries at a bakery. I got a croissant with chocolate, almonds and marzipan and Sam got a chocolate chip scone (healthy, I know) and we shared. Within a few bites my lips started feeling itchy. Weird. A couple more bites and my throat was really scratchy. I ducked into a café restroom to see that my lips were starting to swell. Crap. Allergic reaction, for sure. After trying to walk it off, it started to get difficult to swallow so we quickly asked a store owner where the nearest Farmacia was. We ran there but it was closed. Thank God, we saw someone through the window in the back room. We knocked on the window but she just rolled her eyes at us and pointed to her watch. We started banging some more and she went in the back! Then a man came to the door. We did our best to quickly explain the situation and he said, “Allergic reaction?” in his Italian accent. “YES!” “Okay, come to side”. He let us in through the side door in the alley and brought us into the back room. We showed him the Epi-pen but he said, “Only for really bad, if we need hospital. I give you tablet and shot in bum!” And that’s what he did, after a few firm swats on the bum to numb the injection site. We were afraid to hear what he was going to charge us. The sweet man only asked for 10 Euro! What a God send.

Here we are just minutes after my shot in the bum. Ready to explore the island : )

We were so excited that we still were able to get to the main square before it was shoulder to shoulder tourist time despite our allergen delay

We're guessing this didn't last

We went straight to Saint Mark’s Basilica. Uh-oh, dress code again. This time it was my strapless dress. We were considering buying a T-shirt or scarf but then we saw a group of three American guys and Sam said they could get in line with us if one of them had something I could wear. Perfect, the line was crazy long by then and they were grateful for the chance to budge. I wore one guy’s UNC swim and dive team fleece and we were all happy.

Saint Mark's Basilica

Beautiful art even on the outside

Lovely entrance

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the church. The most impressive part to us was actually the floor! Sam sneaked a picture but it doesn't quite portray what we like about it...

Besides the Basilica, there was nothing else we specifically wanted to see (or were willing to pay for) so we just got lost in Venice. We fell in love with the place just by walking around the back streets. Our favorite part was walking through the small nooks and crannies, over little bridges and looking around to see people’s laundry out to dry on balconies and the flower pots in windows. Sam says, “There are few places where it is a virtue, or at least an aesthetic, for buildings to be ruinous”. Well said, Sam. The collage of architecture, color and general decoration of Venice was like nothing else. Still loving looking back at all of our pictures!

We did take the city “bus”- a boat of course- through the main canal and saw the Realito bridge and other beautiful sites along the canal. We heard this was the best way to see Venice. Other than a personal Gondola of course. The Gondola cost about 90 Euro. Our boat ride was 6.50 and we thought it was perfect.

The Gondola we could have taken

You could also get group gondola tours

Our boat was just fine. We got a seat in the very back, outside, with the safety floating device overhead. The best and safest way to cruise the canals.

We pretty much snapped pictures the entire boat ride. Enjoy...

The famous Rialto Bridge

After the boat ride we got lunch (pizza) and then took a boat to another smaller island called Murano which is known for it's glass blown art (That will be the next blog).

As soon as we got back on Venice island it started to rain so we decided to go eat dinner back at our beloved Malcontenta. Why not? Pizza once again : )

I'll leave ya with one of my favorite pics that Sam took...