We've arrived!
After landing at Marco Polo Airport, Venice, Italy at 11:16 pm Saturday night and discovering that our luggage had been lost, we were able to secure a water taxi to zip us across the dark waters of night to our destination. We were fortunate to split the cost with another travel worn family and only had to pay 60 euros.
So, so tired!
Happy to be on the water taxi taking him to a bed!
Happy Birthday Larry! What a great place to celebrate! We were supposed to arrive at our airbnb apartment on the evening of 8/2 but with all the delays with broken airplanes, 2 layovers and lost luggage (yes, our luggage did not make it to Venice - yet) we didn’t even leave the airport until after 1:00 am. We were grateful to share a water taxi with another family traveling from Morocco. It cost us 60 euros (just for Larry and I) to get from the airport to somewhere near our place of residence for the next few days. Expensive!!
We were dropped off right in front of the alleyway of our apartment, but were told to go down the opposite alley. We had a map with a red balloon and address indicating where we were to go. Unfortunately, there are NO street signs and no real addresses. We asked several wandering people for directions and they all kindly gave us ideas of where to go - all the wrong direction. We wandered around Venice until 3:00 am! We finally found some really helpful young adults who directed us back to the Grand Canal. We carefully went through our notes and checked every restaurant name and found we had turned left when we should have turned right. Oops! It was fairly easy from that point on. Poor Maurice, our host, had to wake up and take us to our apartment. It was just across the way from where he lives. Real nice guy! Our apartment is small, seems to be clean and cozy. There was a breakfast treat set out on a cute little table. We will resume our dining tomorrow! Or should I say, when the sun comes up.
After getting to bed so late we slept in. But once up, we went exploring and traded some American dollars for some euros while waiting for our luggage to show up. We did not a get a very good exchange rate, and we hope we can find an ATM that works with our credit cards to withdraw euros, or we are going to be eating pizza crusts.
Venice is made up of hundreds of alleys and tunnels and canals. We were walking away from our apartment down a long alley, turned and it opened up to a much bigger area. There are little restaurants, pizzerias, and shops along every alley and in every piazza. We kept walking and turning then walking some more. It sometimes felt as though we were lost in the heart of the city, when we would turn and there would be the Grand Canal again! There is a bit of a NYC Canal Street feel about several of the little streets we walked with all the touristy souvenirs to buy. I am in awe of the quaint, ancient looking buildings with the crumbly brick, the picturesque flower boxes and the beautiful colors. It's as though I am in the middle of a “Pirates of the Caribbean” (Mediterranean Movie) set.
Around every turn there is a beautiful canal ...
A fan taking our picture!
... And another one
One of the many alleys we explored.
I love all the textures of the building and pathways.
... And another one.
Larry picked an outdoor restaurant along the Grand Canal for his birthday dinner. Sorry Jana (she said to NOT eat on the canal because it was too smelly). I told him no eating on the Grand Canal but he insisted. It really was a beautiful spot especially as the sun began to set. The colors of the sky made such an exquisite water color that even the greatest artist would have had difficulty duplicating. That atmosphere, along with the excitement of being in Italy made the lasagna and pizza the best we had ever eaten! The smell wasn’t too bad, occasional whiffs kind of reminded us of a back canyon at Lake Powell). After dinner we strolled up and down a few more streets on a quest for the treat of the day. Gelato! I now know why I hear such rave reviews about Italian Gelato. The Americans can’t come close to the creamy, dreamy taste. My taste buds have never been happier!
The birthday restaurant!
The birthday boy!
The best birthday dinner of lasagne and pizza! Some of our favorites from the trip.
The view from our restaurant on the Grand Canal
The first of many!
We would consume A LOT of gelato. It was a the best!
After studying some maps and the king of European travel, Rick Steves, I think we have a good idea how we are going to explore this beautiful city. First stop tomorrow - the bank. Hopefully, we can get a better deal on trading American $$ to euros there. Euros go fast and we should have gotten a few more before leaving Vegas. Cross your fingers we can avoid the exchange booth bandit tomorrow!
it really has been a great experience so far, even with the delay of getting our luggage (yes! it finally came late this afternoon). This is a dream come true and I am so grateful to travel with Larry! I <3 Larry!
The Beautiful Canals of Venice
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