Lacking an alliteration for Venice

Venice. I don’t even know where to start! It’s weird to think that there is not a single car, moped or bus on this island! Only the roar of boat engines. We took the water “bus” to St. Marks and without a map found our hotel! (Quite an accomplishment considering the labyrinth that Venice is) Our hotel was right alongside a canal (as pretty much everything is) and just a few minutes from St. Marks.

We had several days in Venice so we just took our time. We wandered all around the tiny little streets. We shopped about all of the stores full of masquerade masks, jewelry and glass art.

St. Mark's was...well... overrun by tourists! My favorite time to visit it was at night when most of the people were gone and the clusters of string quartets were still playing. During the day it is so busy and the pigeons are just out of control. Really. They don't shy away from humans, and if you have food in your hand, they'll come and land RIGHT ON YOU. After feeling the wings of one flutter across the side of my face one time, I was done with them. There are a few little cafes in the square that are notorious for being ridiculously overpriced...so don't sit down unless you're prepared to pay 5 euros for a 1/4 liter of water!

Chelsea was leaving us the next day so we had to get on a gondola before she left! As cliche as it might seem, it really is so fun. There is just nothing like it.

Our gondolier was a riot. I just picture him to be more of a Harley guy instead of delicately maneuvering a gondolier!

The gondolier took us out onto the Grand Canal. In the background is the Rialto Bridge, probably the most famous of them all.

Love the stripes.

It's just weird to think that this city is sinking 2 inches a decade! Not far from here Sierra, Chels and I were just chillin on a dock when a small delivery boat docked beside us. We didn't think much of it, until one of the guys started talking to us. He knew some English from living in the U.S. doing what? Boat driving of course! We became instant friends. It was probably one of the funniest conversations I've ever had with a stranger. We went from talking about the sewage in Venice, to Gnocchi (my all-time FAVORITE Italian dish) to how he became a boat driver. Basically, it's just like us and driving a car. It's just kind of innate within us. He said he's been "rowing since he was in the womb" His buddy came back and we said farewell! Those are the moments I love most. It's fun being a tourist, but getting to know more about the day-to-day life is what really fascinates me.

Sierra and I spent the next few days getting lost. We'd sit on the edges of a canal and serenade the gondolas floating by in our best opera voices. (all the while getting pictures taken of us by Chinese people?) We found our favorite bridge which was actually just close to our hotel. It was much less populated so we'd sit there for hours just watching gondola after gondola go by. Sometimes we'd even rate the looks, form and technique of the gondolier. I think we're close to experts on the subject by now. At times one would come down with a guy singing and playing the accordion! Venice is literally what you imagine it to be and more. Plus, I set out to do two things: find the best tasting Gnocchi and find my cannoli! Since day one I'd been on the hunt for this amazing Italian dessert. Well, on our last day there I FOUND my cannoli! And in conclusion, I ate some amazing Gnocchi but the best I've ever had was at La Vella in NYC. I guess I'll just have to make a trip back there again...