Venice is an amazing place, it has such beautiful buildings and streets as well as the canals. The last time we visited, almost 13 years ago, it was a lot less busy and it made us want to go back. This time it was busy, there were gondolas everywhere and tourists flocked to St. Mark's Square.
I don't like being around lots of people, particularly when they're strangers, so we tended to walk away from the touristy areas of Venice. We much preferred to walk through streets that were empty.
There are just two bridges that go over the Grand Canal in Venice and we headed for the first of them early in the morning so as to avoid the main tourist times. Despite that the bridge was still full of tourists when we arrived but I did manage to get a selfie or two.
Boats are the only way they get deliveries. ALL things come to Venice by boat!
During our stay it was hot, 30 degrees plus, and the sun came up early. It did make taking photos much more pleasant though because the lighting was just amazing.
Empty streets - and it's good too because this is when the boys decided having a fight was a good idea!
We spent a long time walking and even managed to find the hotel we stayed at during our previous visit.
To give you a little perspective I wanted to take a photo of the steps that lead to the top of one of the main bridges across the Grand Canal. I'm still not sure I managed to capture it but this gives you a little idea of how big they are. Most of the other bridges are nowhere near this big but there are plenty of them.
Lots and lots of steps, but there's an amazing view to be seen at the top.
One of the things we did when BP was a baby was to hire a boat and take it out onto the Grand Canal. We attempted that this time but the Hubby decided it was far too busy to be trying to manoeuvre a boat. He did have a go first though.
We went to St. Mark's Square again and I got a few more photos. As you can see there were lots of people about which made it difficult to get good photos.
Venice, its temples and palaces did seem like fabrics of enchantment piled to heaven.
Percy Bysshe Shelley
I'll let my photos do the rest of the talking because Venice is such a beautiful place you really need to see it.
Day 3 came around quickly and we had to pack up our things. As I got dressed I noticed my legs were itchy. If you've read any of my summer blogs before you'll know I tend to get a lot of bites if I walk through grass or forests. On the third day I noticed bites on my leg, I was surprised because there weren't any grassed areas I'd walked through yet I'd been bitten about 7 times. Here's where I warn you that if you get bitten during the summer then take some insect repellent with you to Venice. I didn't expect it and so didn't have anything with me and I regret that. My leg was swollen and itchy for about 2 weeks after our Venice trip.
On day 3 we headed out for more walking, this time carrying our bags with us. We saw more beautiful architecture, more statues, and of course more bridges.
Usually I add a filter to all of my photos but this photo was so perfect I didn't want to change it. The photo was taken on my iPhone 7 and I haven't edited it at all. This is what it actually looked like.
We weren't going to go on a gondola but we were worn out from all the walking and thought it would be a good way to see more of Venice and from a different perspective. The gondola ride was surprising, the boat leans more than I expected and it was slightly uncomfortable sitting in a way to try and counteract the lean.
After our gondola ride it was time to find food so we would be on time for our flight. I wish I could remember the name of the place but I can't - it was a little place hidden on a smaller street. The food was amazing though.
To begin with we were brought prawns, I think it was potato and red onion with it and it was all cold but was so tasty.
Next I had scallops but they were raw and the stuff with it was tangy - I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.
BP had swordfish (his favourite fish to eat) but again it was raw and he wasn't expecting that. He did eat his fish but left everything else.
The Hubby had a prawns starter that he really enjoyed. He said that despite it being cold the sauces and food with the prawns complimented them brilliantly and he would eat it again.
LP didn't get a starter but he'd been looking forward to having authentic Lasagne during our stay. This was his Lasagne and needless to say it didn't last long.
For his main BP had carbonara but it wasn't like any carbonara I've seen before. This one had seafood, like prawns and scallops, and the sauce was a lot darker than I expected. On a positive note though he really enjoyed it.
I was feeling full despite not eating much, I think the heat tends to curb your appetite sometimes. Instead of having something that would be heavy I opted for a simple tomato linguine which was lovely. The Hubby had a Lasagne for his main, which was just like LP's.
As we were in Venice I had Tiramisu for my dessert and really enjoyed it. I've never had it before and it's one that is on the list for me, I'll definitely select it next time.
Hubby had his favourite dessert - creme brûlée.
The boys had the same dessert, and it's one that LP enjoyed two nights before - "chocolate heart cake" or Chocolate cake with a soft chocolate centre.
And that was it, once we'd finished we got a water taxi back to the airport and headed home. We had to wait a while for our flight to take off, which didn't help with my stress levels, but once we were in the air we made great time and were home in record time. I was surprised when the pilot told us we were coming in to land 45 minutes ahead of the time I'd expected.
We loved our visit to Venice and while we wouldn't go again any time soon that's not because we didn't enjoy it. We said that it would be a nice place to go to in another 10 years, to see how everything has changed.
Stop by my Facebook Page where I'm sharing more awesome photos we took in Venice.
Have you ever visited Venice? What did you think of it?