Waking Up in Italy - A Flash Back to Venice

As I was resting last night, I realized I had not posted information about our time in Venice. So I will take you there with this post.

Kimbra and I arrived in Venice a little after midnight on Friday. We made our way to San Marco Square via the Vaporetto(Venice's version of public transportation). As we walked on to the plaza, Kimbra and I were awe struck. Tired and weary we were both still carrying grins like small children walking through the gates of Disney World for the first time. At this hour the square was all but deserted. Various couples strolled around hand in hand, but it was still and peaceful. We made a quick search for our hotel hoping they would be able to tell us of a late night cafe, but the gentleman checking us in for the night gave us a very little hope of finding dinner at this hour. He did however give us a little hope about our luggage as the airlines had called and requested we return their call in the morning.

We dropped our carry-on bag in the room and decided to head out into the darkened city in search of food. As we navigated around the city side walks we happened upon a restaurant just as they were closing. We talked the lady mopping into serving just one more meal, which turned out to be three more as two more couples followed us into the restaurant.

And so we ate our first Italian meal at an almost closed restaurant, served by a Chinese waiter. This is cool. We then made our way back to the hotel excited about the coming day in Venice, but we had no idea what the city had in store for us.

Our room was located on the first floor just above water level and was positioned at the intersection of two canals so that we had a window on two walls that looked out onto the streets of water.

The morning began with the sounds of the city coming to life. Shop keepers rolling up their gates and early morning delivery drivers chattering back and forth in Italian, their words echoing off the walls and water ways as they worked, and the water lapping against the buildings filled our room like an Italian Opera. This was waking up in Venice Italy. I would highly recommend it!

Venice, A City Built on Water

After getting ready, Kimbra and I took a few minutes to soak in the view our room provided. We waved as gondoliers cruised their boats and passengers by our window. It was fun being the subject in so many pictures of total strangers. After taking in the view we had breakfast in the lobby of Hotel Riva. It consisting of red orange juice, fresh bread, jam and freshly steamed hot chocolate. A great way to start the morning.

Upon leaving the hotel, Kimbra and I instantly fell in love with our surroundings. Tourist were already filling the square and the day was in full swing. It as a cultural mix unlike anything I have ever experienced. People from around the globe passing through the city sidewalks and passage ways. We visited St. Mark's Basilica which was built in the 11th century. The interior was filled with gold mosaics and colored marble. We paid 2 Euros to see the bones of St. Mark which have been housed on that site since 830 A.D.

After touring the church we roamed the city taking in all the beauty and wonder that is Venetian. We found afresh produce market and an even fresher fish market. They were cleaning on one side and selling on the other. We stopped briefly at an Internet cafe to check on our luggage and to blog previous day's adventures, paying 5 euros for 30 minutes on the web.

Our breakfast of bread could not hold our hunger off any longer so we looked for our next meal. What we found was a little restaurant called the Bora Bora Pizzari. We peaked through the glass door and saw only one open table and decided to take it. That proved to be a wise decision. The meal began with Lasagna, then fried calamari, and ice cream for desert. The room was no bigger than our dinning and breakfast rooms at home and the walls were decorated with pictures of people sun bathing on the beach, some with bathing suits and some with out! Kimbra and and I left Bora Bora stuffed and needing a break. An invitation by a Gondolier for a quiet tour of the central city made perfect sense. And so that is how we finished our time in Venice. Floating along narrow back channels getting an intimate view of the city. The city oozed romance and Kimbra and I soaked it in like a dry sponge.

Bye for now! We are off to Florence today. I hope to publish our time in Rome soon. Make it a great day!

Dave