Venice, I Love You! (And Americano Cafe, Too!)

June 15, 2014 (Hello from the USA! :) I'm back!)

This is my favorite day of the trip. :)

To start our adventure, we took a ferry to Murano to watch a glassblowing demonstration. I knew that glassblowing was a delicate art and would be amazing to actually watch, and it was neat to see how pieces like vases, horse figures, and other glassware were made.

After our brief venture into Murano, we hopped on the boat and finally went to Venice. That first view from the ferry was beautiful, but that was only a chip off the iceberg of what joy I would see there.

We first took a general walking tour around the city, and then had free time to explore. We used it to see:

• Rialto Bridge
• Doge's Palace (which was HUGE and AMAZING)
• Gelato (of course)

The absolute best part of the day was the gondola ride we took. Seeing the city from a gondola was absolutely magical and didn't even feel real. Since no transportation other than boats are allowed, the only things you can see passing by are people, buildings, bridges, and other gondolas or other water transport. When we reached the Grand Canal, I got my absolute best views of Venice, with the Rialto bridge on my right and various gondolas drifting on my left.

My other favorite part was seeing the Americano cafe, where Ernest Hemingway spent a lot of time. So, because that made me immediately think of Midnight in Paris and how much I loved Hemingway in that movie, I got a picture in front of it! :)

It's safe to say that Venice is one of my new favorite cities. I was sad to leave, but I know I'll be back someday. :) And I'm glad that I spent Father's Day with Dad there. That made it so special. 

Also, having church with our group at the beach by our hotel afterwards - sitting on the rocks by the Adriatic Sea - was icing on the cake.