I'm on A Boat... on the Canals... of Venice!

How in the world does time work - because when I think about our time in Venice; which was only a week and two days ago, it somehow seems like another lifetime ago. Isn't that strange? We slept in a bit on Sunday morning and much to our delight, our AirBnB has it arranged so around 8:30 each morning a local bakery drops off fresh baked croissants at the door - and so we helped ourselves to those lovely treats while drinking copious amounts of espresso!

We didn't have plans set in stone until the afternoon - our tour of Saint Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace was not until 2:00 in the afternoon and so after we finished up our espresso and croissants, we bundled up and headed out into the blustery day to explore the city of Venice. We were told by multiple people that the weather had turned pretty recently and so it made things quite blustery out on the water... Our first stop was in Saint Mark's Square and I'll go ahead and preface you - there will be so many pictures in this post - oh so many pictures. 

Saint Mark's Square!

Smiling in the Piazza San Marco

Sister shot in Saint Mark's Square!

Saint Mark's Basilica & the San Marco Campanile!

Saint Mark's Square is situated on the Grand Canal and is something of a focal point for visitors to Venice. The Square contains the San Marco Campinale, which is a bell tower that was originally build in the 9th century as a watch tower... it also contains Saint Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace; also known as the Ducal Palace of Venice. The wind off the water made it incredibly chilly and it only became more so as we made our way through the square and toward the Grand Canal.

Saint Mark's Square!

Saint Mark's Basilica!

The Venetian Astronomical Clock...

Decor on Saint Mark's Basilica!

The Grand Canal is the major water traffic corridor in the city of Venice and most of the smaller canals wind their way off the Grand Canal. The scene at the Grand Canal has the picturesque gondolas and the striped poles that are so easily associated with your typical picture of Venice... as well as gorgeous buildings that date back to the 13th century. You can glimpse other islands that make up the city of Venice across the waterways and boats are constantly zipping along here and there, going about the business of the day. 

On the Grand Canal of Venice!

Gondolas on the Grand Canal!

Water as far as the eye can see...

Looking toward Saint Mark's Square.

Cheese! You're in Venice!

People were milling around everywhere and at one point, a girl decided to take a picture near the same spot I am standing in for the picture above... but for some reason she decided it would be a good idea to step down onto the steps descending into the canal; most of which were covered in slick green moss. You can guess what happened next, right? She slipped right down those steps and while she thankfully didn't fall fully into the canal, her entire right leg was soaked up to her hip. And I'm pretty sure it was about 35 out... no thank you! 

One of the 400+ bridges that cross the canals of Venice...

The Doge's Palace!

Gondola ride anyone?

We made our way through the streets... I guess they aren't streets, ha-ha...but you get the point and snapped shots of two of the most famous bridges in all of Venice: the Bridge of Sighs and the Rialto Bridge. The Bridge of Sighs connects the Doge's Palace to the prison and is so named because prisoners would cross one side of the bridge to be led into prison and only cross again to be led to their execution in Saint Mark's Square - so the sighs are not of the pleasant variety.

Rialto Bridge spans the Grand Canal and the sides of the bridge are lined with shops - which alas, I didn't walk into a single one of! *sigh* We perused the canals and alley ways and decided that if we planned to get lunch and take a gondola ride before making our way back to Saint Mark's Square for our tour, we'd better get right on it! 

The Bridge of Sighs in the background.

Eating outside is a very common thing in Italy - I'd learn that pretty quickly - and it doesn't matter that it's nippy outside, they just string up heaters and go on about their business. We sat outside for our lunch and while I wasn't ever uncomfortably cold, it was a bit chilly at times! Thank goodness for tasty and toasty pizza to warm up your insides, ha-ha!

All about those canals...

A gondola in action!

It's like something out of a movie...

I wish I could better put into words what Venice was like - I feel like the pictures don't do it justice and it's just completely like something out of another world. You always hear about Venice and not having streets or cars or anything like that...but hearing about it ans seeing it are entirely different. 

The Rialto Bridge!

Boats on the Grand Canal!

We had lunch at a cafe alongside the canals - I had pizza - I ate a lot of pizza while we were in Italy, I know that's probably a given but I ended up eating a lot more pizza than I ate pasta. Surprising but true! We made our way over Rialto Bridge and climbed aboard a gondola for a thirty minute cruise along the canals... and y'all, let me tell you that "a good balance is key". The gondolier told each one of us exactly where we needed to sit within the boat and I was assigned to the front right side of the boat, seated with my knees facing the back of the boat... and when I tried to turn forward, the gondolier was quick to tell me "no - right balance is good balance" and so I turned right back into my starting position! 

On the canals of Venice!

The architecture is fascinating...

There is just something a little unreal about making your way along the canals of Venice and seeing homes where the front door leads right down into the water and a boat is tied along the steps. I can't imagine what life must be like when you need to purchase groceries (which is altogether a different activity as well...) and so you climb into your boat and make your way along the canals to do your shopping. I gather life in Venice must move at a very different pace...and I still haven't decided if I'd find that to be a good thing or not...

Do you spy the gigantic seagull floating in the canal?

Gondolas as far as the eye can see...

Once our canal boat ride was over, we made our way back to our AirBnB to change shoes, use the bathroom and such - did I mention that it was a fifth floor walk up? Hello stairs! We met up with our tour guide Marco in Saint Mark's Square and I knew we were in for a treat almost immediately because Marco excelled in sarcasm and I am all about that! He told us that as we were on our tour, we just had to be like the Italians and shove people gently out of the way... like a bulldozer, ha!

Marco escorted us across Saint Mark's Square and into Saint Mark's Basilica where he told us that we technically weren't supposed to take pictures but if we'd just pay attention to the guards, we'd be able to snap pictures when he wasn't looking! Saint Mark's Basilica was built in the 9th century as the personal chapel for the Doge of Venice (the president or ruler) and would go on to change hands as the city of Venice changed hands between the Italians, the Byzantines and more... the church is built in the style of Greek Orthodox and the floor plan follows the Greek cross pattern. The interior of the church is filled with mosaics and gold leaf and has five domes... it is also directly connected to the Doge's Palace.

Sneaky Saint Mark's Pictures...

Mosaic on the floor...

Look at all the gold leaf!

The Horses of Saint Mark Lysippos

So much gold leaf everywhere...

This is Marco - he was hilarious!

The tour extended out on to the balcony of the Basilica and I snapped a few pictures there - including a mosaic of Saint Nicholas! Y'all know that he's one of the best saints, right? The horses on the balcony of the basilica are reproductions while the originals are housed inside the church itself... and they have been all over the place! They were placed on the balcony of the church when the city of Venice sacked Constantinople in 1204 and then they were taken by Napoleon in 1797 before finally being returned in 1815. They've had just a few adventures...

Executions were done between those two pillars on the Square - exciting, right?

One of the five domes of the Basilica as viewed from the balcony.

The Doge's Palace as viewed from Saint Mark's Basilica.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas...

Replicas of the horses of Saint Mark.

Once we finished our tour of Saint Mark's Basilica, we crossed through Saint Mark's Square and made our way into the Doge's Palace. The Doge's Palace was the home of the ruler of Venice and was filled with frescoes, grand entrances and exits and also contained the judicial center of Venice. Venice is made up of six different regions and so when making judicial decisions, the Doge was joined by an elected official from each of the six different regions. The Doge's Palace is also connected to the prisons of Venice - accessible by the Bridge of Sighs. 

An original canal boat in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace.

Posing for a picture or huddling for warmth?

The ceilings and ante-chambers of the Doge's Palace were extravagant...to say the least. The fine works of art, frescoes and attention to detail were meant to convey the wealth and power that the Doge held and all of the glorious artwork is still perfectly maintained today.

The judicial seat of the Doge and the six representatives of Venice.

Justice...posed atop the entrance to a secret staircase.

The large ballroom in the Doge's Palace.

The tour was fantastic and was three hours or so that allowed us to see some of the most prominent portions of the city of Venice - and Marco was hilarious and interesting to listen to. He had jokes about everything and knew so much about each of the places we toured...which, of course. That's why he's the tour guide, ha-ha! He proclaimed me his "favorite" after I correctly answered a question about the name of the Italian composer of Four Seasons - that would be Vivaldi.

I'm realizing now that if you've made it this far in the post... well done to you because I took so many pictures...and there are still more to come! There was just so much to take in and I want to be able to look back here one day and relive it all, so hopefully you're enjoying the pictures too!

The view crossing the Bridge of Sighs!

The Grand Staircase of the Doge's Palace.

The statues on either side of the Grand Staircase are of Mars and Neptune - again, statues meant to convey to anyone visiting that they were in a place where great power was wielded on a daily basis. All visitors would have arrived via this staircase, so the power play was always on show.

The gondolas as night falls...

The domes of Saint Mark's Basilica. 

We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe - I know, not exactly original but we figured we'd be eating plenty of pasta and pizza throughout the week and the Hard Rock happened to be right next to our AirBnB, which was specially nice as the sun set and the temperature dropped! Brrrr! I will say - it was easily the smallest Hard Rock Cafe that I've ever eaten in!

 After having dinner, we made our way to Florian's - the oldest tea room in the world, located right on Saint Mark's Square - and had ourselves some delicious dessert! Luckily we arrived in the nick of time; November is firmly considered the "off season" in Italy and the tea room was all set to close promptly at 8:00...and we arrived at 7:40! Just enough time to quickly pick our desserts and scarf them down! You know I took pictures of all the wonderful desserts that we had together!

A full day in Venice to be sure - and happily, no one caused a power outage on Sunday night - what a gift! After Lindsey and I danced around Saint Mark's Square in giggles, we went back to our AirBnB to put together our bags, get some sleep and prepare to make our way to Rome on Monday! 

Let me leave you with just a few more pictures from our day around Venice and on the canals - just in case you haven't seen enough!

A very blustery day - to be sure!

Goofing off in one of the many piazza's...

Family photo for the win!

Ciao for now ya'll - it's on to Rome for the next post!

Back in Virginia

Oh man - I'm back in Virginia once again and I am so glad. Let me tell you, I made some wonderful memories in the past week and a half and I saw places that I've always dreamed of seeing but it is always so wonderful to be home once again.

I have so many pictures to share and stories from my trip through Italy! I just wanted to share a bit about our travels from Northern Virginia to Venice today - trust me, I have plenty of pictures from that portion of the journey alone.

We left Virginia with snow still on the ground in most spots and flew overnight from Dulles International Airport to Frankfurt - this was my first time to ever be in Germany and even though we never left the airport, I still thought it was cool to be in Germany. We grabbed some breakfast and perused some shops at the Frankfurt airport - we arrived in the early morning (very early to our bodies) and had an almost four hour layover, so we planned to grab a small lunch before boarding our next flight.

We asked an airport employee about a place to grab lunch and she directed us to a small restaurant a short walk from our gate. She told us we could "just walk over & eat something & come right back..." but what she failed to mention was that once you were done eating, the only way to get back to the Z gates was to leave the airport, go through security again and re-enter the airport! That would have been useful information and so my anxiety went through the roof when we had only about fifteen minutes to go through security and make it back to our gate to board our flight... thankfully our gate was mere steps from the exit of security!

Thanks for the heart attack Frankfurt! Eek! Any how - our flight from Frankfurt to Venice was quite a short one, just over an hour. We flew over the Austrian Alps, already covered with snow and as we began our descent I could see water...water...everywhere and then, little land masses crowded with buildings on every square space. My first view of Venice - and of Italy!

We landed and I was reunited with my little sister after four + months apart - she's been stationed in Italy for her most recent deployment and has been having a wonderful time. We all embraced and then made our way to catch a Vaporetto from the airport and into the city of Venice - and of course, a Vaporetto would be a water taxi - because long gone were all cars, trucks, vehicles of any kind! Welcome to the city of boats, bridges and water!

We rode along the water for over an hour as the water taxi made stops here and there dropping people off at their stops and it was a unique way to see the 118 islands that make up the city of Venice. The city is connected by canals and over 400 bridges and it's honestly like something from another world - and yet, the world turns there along the canals just like it does here on the streets. It's just; quite honestly, a completely different world. It's fascinating. 

Our AirBnB could not have been located at a better spot - we were literally steps away from Saint Mark's Square - you could see the top of Saint Mark's Campinale from the fifth floor windows of the apartment and hear boats going along the canals. It was such an enchanting little spot! The five flights of stairs weren't necessarily as enchanting but then again - so much of Italy is old and elevators are just not a thing!

We arrived a little later in the evening - I'd say around 5:00 - and sun sets shortly before 5:00, so once we'd settled in to our AirBnB we put on coats and set out to explore. It was much cooler in Venice than we'd anticipate; locals mentioned that the weather had turned dramatically cooler just days earlier and it normally wasn't quite so brisk! We walked the alleyways, crossing bridges and peering into shop fronts filled with pasta, candies, chocolates, pastries, knick-knacks, glassworks and so much more...

Our AirBnB host had made some recommendations for dinner, so we trekked over the bridges to a wonderful little spot where we seated in the window where we could watch people walking past. I do believe that this meal may have been my favorite of the entire trip; I had a delicious filled tortellini with a cream sauce and small pieces of ham and it was to die for! Just looking at this makes my mouth water and wish for some more... *sigh* it was certainly some fine Italian food! 

After our dinner, we made our way back to our apartment popping in to a couple places here and there. Our waiter had given Lindsey and I complimentary shots of Limoncello; a yummy yet potent lemon liqueur that the Italians are famous for. I stumbled onto a bar that a friend had mentioned checking out - the ceiling is adorned with bras, ha-ha! I grabbed a picture and we also went into a chocolate shop and purchased some filled cookies and dragee or confetti, which are covered almonds!

We ended the night on an interesting note - My Dad plugged multiple items into a converter to charge and when I unplugged my phone, the end of the charger hit the stove top...sparked...and the power went out completely! Oh wait - did I forget to mention that my Dad had snaked the cord plugging the converter across a stove top? Oops! We called the number provided and within about an hour, a sweet Italian gentleman came, flipped a circuit downstairs and told my Dad "No" when he showed him all his plugs and his converter! Ha-ha! Talk about starting the trip with a bang - am I right?

So - there you have it. Smooth flights, a small panic attack in the Frankfurt airport, all the bridges and canals, some delicious Italian food and a stout lemon sip to start the trip! I so enjoyed our adventures abroad but I must say I'm looking forward to my comfy couch and my toasty bed once again tonight! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Watson Wednesday

This is the way you sleep when a full day of snow has worn you out - I snapped this last Thursday evening while Watson was whiling away the evening snoozing. 

My family is in Pompeii today and while we explore this fascinating town, we are also celebrating my little sister's birthday! Tomorrow is turkey day - I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Saturday Snow Snaps

 I just wanted to pop in and share some pictures I snapped on Thursday when the snow arrived - nothing fancy of fascinating, just a few pictures from the first snow of 2018!

My family and I should be somewhere between Germany and Italy - making our way to Venice! I can't wait to see the canals! 

Five on Friday

One. Hello Italy - Today's the day, we're off and away to explore the wonders of Italy! I'll be spending the next nine days flying...exploring Venice, Rome, Pompeii and Sicily before returning home once again. I'm so looking forward to seeing so many amazing sights like the canals of Venice, the Colosseum, Vatican City, the Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the ruins of Pompeii and the gorgeous coastal towns in Sicily! I feel like I probably haven't even begun to name all the wonderful things I'll be seeing...

You can be rest assured that I'll be taking hundreds of pictures and I'll be sure to share them with you all once I return! I can't wait to see all the wonder and beauty that Italy has to offer! Ciao y'all! 

Two. Prayers for Safe Travels - Of course, we will be doing quite a bit of flying to see all of the Italian countryside and y'all know I'm not the best at all the flying business! I've stocked up on my Ativan (yahoo for prescription medication) but I've also (probably most importantly) been praying for peace and calm. 

I stumbled on this verse via a fellow blogger earlier this week and thought it would be a good verse to meditate on. I also love Joshua 1:9 - "Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you may go." If you're a praying person - feel free to offer up some safe travel and calming prayers for me!

Three. Holiday Thoughts - I stumbled on to this meme and I couldn't help but think that this would not only apply to the upcoming holiday eating(s)...because you know there will be plenty of events that involve delicious good food, ha-ha! I'm thinking this definitely will also apply to all the wonderful things I'll be eating in Italy!

Perhaps I should change it to say "I'll beat you with some fettuccine, Susan!" Who knows! Ha-ha!

Four. Winter is Coming - I've been watching the weather all week... first 3-5 inches on Thursday was predicted...then it changed to 8-12 inches...then it changed to 1-3 inches..and then back to 3-5... you get the picture. Regardless of how many feet and inches - snow was coming. We awoke on Thursday morning to ice pellets falling from the sky and the OK from the boss to stay home.

It snowed and sleeted on and off all day and by the time the sun set, I would guess there were 4-6 inches of snow? My Dad shared a meme that said snow before December is caused by people who decorate early for Christmas and I'm definitely guilty as charged...but oh well. It certainly was pretty to look at... although I'm petitioning for a snow blower before the great white pays us another visit. Snow shoveling is no joke!

Five. A Brief Hiatus - So...since I'll be traipsing all over Italy next week, this space will probably be pretty quiet... I've got one or two posts prepared that I can pop in and publish from afar but nothing too exciting.  I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and I'll be back here on/around Monday the 25th! Eat some turkey for me!

Happy Weekend everyone - and a very happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! I can't believe it's already that time of year!

Watson Wednesday

The face you make when you just want to scratch your back on the Christmas tree branches...but you keep being told "no" because it makes the whole tree shake. Life is tough.