Venice

Venice! From the moment I first laid eyes on this place, it became one of my favorite places in Europe (so far)! Chalk it up to all the time I spent with my Daddy on a boat growing up, but I love this island, its Grand Canal, and all the smaller canals that wind through it. I love that the buildings are incredibly old and that the paint is peeling off most of them. I love that if you wander the narrow streets long enough, you'll find yourself turning onto a street that is really little more than an alley only wide enough for one person to walk down. I love all the quaint little restaurants along the canals and all of the interesting shops selling everything from lace to glass to jewelry to pasta. Basically, I love everything about Venice!

Our first trip to Venice was with my sister and her family. We arrived at St. Mark's Square after a ride down the Grand Canal.

The Basilica of San Marco overlooks this great square. Mark, one of the writers of the four Gospels, was chosen by Venice as their patron saint because of his ties to Rome. Venetian merchants are said to have stolen Mark's body from Alexandria in 828 A.D. and brought it back with them to Venice where the Basilica was basically built on top of his remains. This church was definitely different than any other we have seen. Its design is said to have been inspired by the Byzantine model of the ancient Church of the Apostles in Constantinople.

After touring the church, we wandered aimlessly around the city taking in the beauty that lay around each corner.

Flowers, canals, and gondolas...

The Bridge of Sighs where convicts caught their last glimpse of Venice out those little windows before being imprisoned...

The beautiful Rialto Bridge...

The hustle and bustle of the Grand Canal...

Lunch by the Grand Canal...

 The charm of this place was just never ending!

Then of course there was the gondola ride! I loved seeing Venice from water level.

Our gondola ride ended in the lagoon in front of St. Mark's Square, offering some pretty amazing views.

After more shopping and eating, we ended our day with a ride back up the Grand Canal around 10 pm. Twilight had just sent in when we started the trek, but by the time it was over, night had settled in. This was hands down my favorite part of the day. The lights reflecting off the water were absolutely beautiful, and I could have just ridden up and down the canal all night long.

Venice was definitely a bucket list destination for me, and I may have been back twice since this visit (but only because we had more visitors to take there)! As of now, it holds the number one spot on my list of favorite European cities!