SNO PLACE LIKE ROME: Venezia: A lover's paradise

Brad and I absolutely LOVED venice!!! It was by far our favorite part of all the trips we took. We spent 4 days there. It started off with an early morning flight which only one took one hour and was cheaper than taking a train. On our way out of my apartment..Brad realized that we both had the same exact backpacks just different colors. These are no ordinary backpacks, they are backpacks with a million pockets and straps/buckles everywhere. They scream tourist when you look at them...and we screamed cheesy couple when we wore them together. it looked like we did it on purpose. ha! When we finally arrived in Venice we were exhausted and were planning on resting up for the day until we got there with the sun shining and realized how awesome this city was. So we made plans to shower and go out for dinner and see what this city was all about. It took us a little bit to find our hotel because we didn't have a map and couldn't find San Polo (the part our hotel was in). We ended up at another hotel with the same 2160 address as ours but we were in San Marco. The lady there was so helpful and nice that she gave us a map and showed us where to go. Finally, we checked into our hotel which had a tiny room but it worked for us. We had a small TV which was always on playing music videos from MTV cause that's the only channel we could understand. We had a good dinner at a little restaurant near our hotel which we went to a few times while we were there. On Friday we woke up to explore the city. I didn't realize all the shops that Venice is made up of! The walk to St. Mark's square had so many shops it was like an outdoor mall. They had puma, foot locker, and a disney store-just to name a few. There are no cars there its only walking and boats which was so nice! We saw tons of Gondola's and tourists. After a day of exploring, we went out to San Margherita which is the place for university students at night. We saw a younger crowd there but went to a bar that didn't have many people there. Here, we tried the signature Italian liqeurs- Grappa and Limoncello. EW! neither of us were fans of those and we had to choke the drinks down. Saturday, we woke up to breakfast at our hotel (croissants and bread..it was so basic but so good!) and had a long day of activities. We did a gondola ride which lasted about 20 minutes and costed us 100 euros! Expensive, but definitely worth it.

The gondolier told us about some of the buildings but neither of us could really understand him except for when he showed us the prison for women...then Brad says "that's where you should be Sonja". haha-right. thanks Brad :) We then went to feed the pigeons in St. Mark's square. Of course..Brad made me go first. When the pigeons see you have bread in your hand..they are ALL over you! a couple even landed on my head. We got the pictures and I told Brad it was his turn...but he refused!! I had to bug him for about 5 minutes before he finally gave in. He lasted about 30 seconds-enough time to get a picture-then he ditched out of there. He hated it!! it was so funny. After that, we wanted to go to the Island of Murano to see glass making. The lady informed us of a tour that was leaving a half hour later which consisted of a boat ride to three islands-Murano, Burano and Torcello-plus a tour guide and glass making demonstration. All of this for 20 euro's a person...it was a good deal so we did it. This was so cool...seeing the guy make a vase and a cat in about 10 minutes..Brad and I were front row!! Burano is the island of colorful fisherman cottages and lacemaking-it was cute. Torcello had a population of 21 people and was the first island that the settlers landed at. We didn't get too far into that island but we got awesome pictures on the pier at sunset. For dinner brad and I went to a seafood restaurant suggested by our hotel and it was SO good. I'm glad Brad shares a love for sushi and seafood because not very many people like to eat seafood. We got fried calamari, octopus, shrimp, clams, etc. It was a whole mix of things and we split that for an appetizer...followed by our own dishes of spaghetti (I got meat sauce Brad got spaghetti and clams). It was definitely our favorite restaurant we ate at! yum. Before we knew it, it was Sunday and time to check out. We packed our stuff..roamed the city and tried to pass the time by sitting at a cafe and having coffee. The weather was terrible on Sunday-it was cold and rainy and puddles were everywhere!! My feet were soaked and I ruined my boots to the point I had to throw them away. Good thing we packed an umbrella because that was a lifesaver for me. We finally got back to Rome around 10 pm and Brad packed up his stuff for his early morning flight back home. It was sad to part with Brad for a second time but we both had a great time together. Brad loved his time here and I was happy to experience it with him.