Geoff and I went to Venice for a long weekend and it was wonderful! First of all, we are so thankful that Nannie is here and so willing to kick us out the door to babysit our kiddos for a few days - thank you very much Nannie!! It is always a treat to spend some quality time with just the two of us! :)
So for this trip, Geoff and I decided we would just wait until the week before and see what kind of "last minute" deals we could find and go from there...I had my heart set on Venice this time and we lucked out and found this amazing deal!!! We could never have done something like this coming from the States! We got a great package (airfare, hotel, etc.) for a low cost thanks to Geoff's "deal finding" skills - yay!!
Our hotel was on its own little island which was nice because Carnivale was going on in Venice and we could escape the crowds each night (just a 10 minute shuttle away!).
We checked in late that night and the hotel was fully booked so we got upgraded to a junior suite - woohoo!
Why are bidets so funny? :)
Yes, I took a lot of pictures of our hotel! It is on the island of San Clemente which dates back to 1131. The hotel itself was reconstructed from a 17th century monestary and was beautiful! We felt so lucky (and glad we weren't paying full price!!)
Line waiting for the hotel's shuttle to San Marcos.
While we were waiting a rowing competition was going by - so interesting and they were all standing up?
The little church by the hotel...you can get married here and rent out the whole island if you want!
Looking back at our hotel from the boat...sorry, some of the pics got out of order...
Ok, now on to the mainland...we started off in San Marcos square. It was packed with people for Carnivale and so many people were dressed up! It was such a fun atmosphere and so nice to be able to have some good clean fun (no drunken debachery, fights, nudity). It is too bad that festivals in the U.S. have to turn into Mardi Gras! There were actually families and kids around and felt completely safe!
So the symbol of Venice is the lion with wings. It is everywhere and when you see it on buildings - when it is with an open book, that building was built while Venice was at peace. When you see it with the closed book, it was built during a time of war. So interesting! (Thanks for the tip Heather!)
This is the bell tower (notice the open book!)
Lunch! A local spot for the gondoliers
We met our friends Heather and Tom here (they just live about an hour away) - so good to see them!! We got some wine and hung out all afternoon doing a lot of people watching - thanks Heather and Tom for the company and the tips! :)
Murano glass was everywhere!
St. Marks square- so crowded!
Pasta!
All of the costumes were incredible!! It was so funny watching the people really get into it and "pose" for all the photos! I took a ton of pictures so here is a little collage of costumes...
Shrek and Fiona :) For Brylie!
More costumes - so elaborate!
The kids were so cute dressed up and having a blast!
A little gondolier - ha! :)
I just loved all of the buildings and canals all over Venice - so colorful and pretty!
She has a caboose ;)
Heather and I. Last time we saw each other was 5 years ago in Germany - ha! Maybe next time will be on our native soil :)
What is the deal with Italian restaurants hanging bras on the ceiling??
Bellinis and pizza - yum!
St. Mark's (San Marcos) square from the boat coming in...
Stumbled upon a music history museum. Free entry so we checked it out!
Beautiful Venice!
The best panini I've ever had! :)
The sculptures at the Guggenheim
Another little place that we had a yummy lunch!
Street performers
Gelato - this one is for you Sarah, it is Stracciatella :)
Rialto bridge
Dinner!
A souvenier for Brylie :)
The gondolas...we actually did not ride in one after all - it was too cold! :)
So for this trip, Geoff and I decided we would just wait until the week before and see what kind of "last minute" deals we could find and go from there...I had my heart set on Venice this time and we lucked out and found this amazing deal!!! We could never have done something like this coming from the States! We got a great package (airfare, hotel, etc.) for a low cost thanks to Geoff's "deal finding" skills - yay!!
Our hotel was on its own little island which was nice because Carnivale was going on in Venice and we could escape the crowds each night (just a 10 minute shuttle away!).
We checked in late that night and the hotel was fully booked so we got upgraded to a junior suite - woohoo!
Why are bidets so funny? :)
Yes, I took a lot of pictures of our hotel! It is on the island of San Clemente which dates back to 1131. The hotel itself was reconstructed from a 17th century monestary and was beautiful! We felt so lucky (and glad we weren't paying full price!!)
Line waiting for the hotel's shuttle to San Marcos.
While we were waiting a rowing competition was going by - so interesting and they were all standing up?
The little church by the hotel...you can get married here and rent out the whole island if you want!
Looking back at our hotel from the boat...sorry, some of the pics got out of order...
Ok, now on to the mainland...we started off in San Marcos square. It was packed with people for Carnivale and so many people were dressed up! It was such a fun atmosphere and so nice to be able to have some good clean fun (no drunken debachery, fights, nudity). It is too bad that festivals in the U.S. have to turn into Mardi Gras! There were actually families and kids around and felt completely safe!
So the symbol of Venice is the lion with wings. It is everywhere and when you see it on buildings - when it is with an open book, that building was built while Venice was at peace. When you see it with the closed book, it was built during a time of war. So interesting! (Thanks for the tip Heather!)
This is the bell tower (notice the open book!)
Lunch! A local spot for the gondoliers
We met our friends Heather and Tom here (they just live about an hour away) - so good to see them!! We got some wine and hung out all afternoon doing a lot of people watching - thanks Heather and Tom for the company and the tips! :)
Murano glass was everywhere!
St. Marks square- so crowded!
Pasta!
All of the costumes were incredible!! It was so funny watching the people really get into it and "pose" for all the photos! I took a ton of pictures so here is a little collage of costumes...
Shrek and Fiona :) For Brylie!
More costumes - so elaborate!
The kids were so cute dressed up and having a blast!
A little gondolier - ha! :)
I just loved all of the buildings and canals all over Venice - so colorful and pretty!
She has a caboose ;)
Heather and I. Last time we saw each other was 5 years ago in Germany - ha! Maybe next time will be on our native soil :)
What is the deal with Italian restaurants hanging bras on the ceiling??
Bellinis and pizza - yum!
St. Mark's (San Marcos) square from the boat coming in...
Stumbled upon a music history museum. Free entry so we checked it out!
Beautiful Venice!
The best panini I've ever had! :)
The sculptures at the Guggenheim
Another little place that we had a yummy lunch!
Street performers
Gelato - this one is for you Sarah, it is Stracciatella :)
Rialto bridge
Dinner!
A souvenier for Brylie :)
The gondolas...we actually did not ride in one after all - it was too cold! :)
1 comments:
I hate you just a little bit right now ;-)
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