Venice, the real one

There is no other place quite like Venice. Red roof tops, narrow alleys, and gorgeous winding canals. There are soooo many bridges. 409 to be exact. The entire city is built on wooden stilts, and I still can’t wrap my head around that.  

We took a train to Venice from Siena, after our stay in Chianti (read about that here).  I was so excited I could hardly sit still when we crossed the large bridge to the first island. It was exactly how I imagined it to be from what I've seen in pictures and the movies. Its otherworldly charm had me smitten. 

You can walk the entire city, and water taxis are not really needed at all. Our hotel was in San Polo, which was a really great location. It was very central to everything, and not a far walk for getting where we wanted to go. You can see the major sites of the city in two full days. We ended up seeing all that we wanted, and by the third day had no desire to keep walking on sore feet so we tried to kill time while we waited for our train to Paris. But then we realized we could still take advantage of the hotel’s rooftop terrace. So we grabbed a bottle of wine and a bar of chocolate and lounged for hours on the terrace of our hotel. It was lovely, and very much needed.

More photos after the jump...

Rialto Bridge

Saint Mark's Square

Travel tip: Take a gondola ride from one of the stops in a small canal. The Grad Canal rides are cheaper, but they only take you out on the Grand Canal, and you don’t get to see the charming small canals. It seemed expensive for just a 40 minute ride, but we were glad we did it. It sealed the whole Venetian experience for us.

Drinking cappuccinos at the Florian, Europe's first coffee shop!

My favorite things: the glass shops, ornate masks, two-foot passageways, small bridges, St. Mark’s Square, gondolas, and the rooftop terrace of our hotel (Ca’ San Polo).

That night, it was all aboard the train to Paris!