VENICE - DAY 2 Doges Palace/Gondolas/Burano

When I tell you this trip was packed end to end with experiences I mean it. Day 2 began at 7AM, and it was a long one.

My favorite, and most consistent daily activity was going to breakfast and having the ability to push a button on a simple machine which would dispense bottomless servings of amazing espresso. I usually had about 6-8 over the span of 40 minutes in order to be mentally and physically capable of whatever adventure awaited us next. Espresso, and Aperol spritz fueled me through most of the days.

We gathered as a group and walked out the front of our hotel and boarded a water-bus which would take us about 25 minutes to Rialto where we would tour the Doges Palace. Our Globus guide, Ursula then turned us over to the palace guide, Marcela who was the best. She had a dark sense of humor and an extremely deep knowledge of the history of Venice, and specifically the Doges Palace. I could probably write 20 pages on this place especially since I took notes. As a lover of history, and time pieces I was overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of the art, and architecture of this city. The story of the palace and it's rulers is the story of the Venetian Empire itself. Being part of a tour group really clicked into place on this first excursion. We were given a real sense of where we were, what we were looking at and why it was important. Here's some pics of just a few moments from that morning.

Next we walked across the square to a glass blowing demonstration, which was HOT and tight for a large group and concluded in the sales floor where we were encouraged to buy some genuine Murano glassware (it's obnoxiously Italian). It didn't really bother me, but more than a few of our excursions concluded with a bit of a sales pitch ;)

Thor looks weird because I had to squish the frame...

After a little break for snacks, espresso, gelato, and whatever else, we walked a short way over to an area where there were a number of gondolas waiting for us. I was prepared for this to feel super touristy and weird, but it was honestly one of the most amazing parts of the trip. My parents were loaded into their own private gondola, accompanied by a guitar player and singer. We broke into small groups and spent the next 30-45 minutes paddling through the narrow canals being serenaded by beautiful traditional Italian music. It was incredible.

After the gondola ride we took a larger ferry to the island of Burano. It is a cute, quiet island. Almost its own little boutique Venice. I have no idea what people do there. But it felt like exactly what you think of when you think of a quiet Venetian island village. We had an extremely mediocre lunch there, but other than that, Burano was beautiful.

Evening in Venice is as romantic as you can imagine. We arrived back at the hotel around 6PM, and though we were exhausted, it was our last night in Venice and we had so much more to see. The whole family met on the roof for a cocktail but it was too crowded so Christie and I decided to go on our own little adventure and wandered aimlessly into late afternoon. We found our way to an amazing little outdoor cafe that we had discovered the day before and it was perfect for people watching. It was called "Bar Callo" and we treated ourselves to melon and prosciutto as well as our ubiquitous negroni and aperol spritz. It was a perfect spot, shaded yet lit just the right way as the late afternoon sun passed below the roofline of the buildings. It was a 5 point intersection with views in every direction. I could've stayed there for a week just to hang out for happy hour at that place.

As the sun set we wandered back to the hotel. We decided that Venice must be policed by vampires because somehow there were no homeless people, no trash cans, and very few visible police but it felt extremely devoid of litter and quite safe. Vampires were the only logical conclusion. We were ALMOST ready to call it a night, but the building next to our hotel had a large marble staircase that was absolutely calling our name. There was a little mobile bar cart out front and people were just hanging out on the steps of the building watching people and boats pass by. Also there was an incredible lightning show taking place in the distant sky. It was the right move. We ended up meeting a couple (Debbie and Dennis) from Wisconsin who were weathered hippies with thick midwestern accents. We spent an hour trading stories about our lives, and our travel plans. Eventually we were just too tired to keep it going and finally gave in to our biological need for rest. After all, tomorrow was just a few hours away and we still had a long way to go!

On the steps.

Post-script: Venice is every bit as beautiful as you can imagine. It was the perfect place to start off, and I felt like I could've spent a week there. I had one little additional note in my phone that just says "Expectations dictate a lot about your experiences". I think I had some preconceived notions about Venice based on my solo trip there in the late 90's. This was a much different experience.