venezia // city of water //

My most sincere apologies for leaving you all in the middle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa for much longer than we ourselves stayed there. You must understand that my days since I have been home have been extremely busy, and my summer has run away with all my time, leaving me exhausted and usually asleep on the couch or in bed at odd hours.

But, moving on...

Venice. Um. Wow.

Not a good "wow" either.

Really, Venice is not all it's cracked up to be.

It was hard for me to swallow, but it's positively true. Venice is just a city coming out of the water, and there's really all there is to it.

And it's full of swindlers, hoaxes, and junky tourist restaurants and shops that want to take your money and precious time.

OK. I think that's enough of the horrible things about Venice.

Venice really was beautiful. We got lost, just like all the guidebooks and articles told us to do. And Venice surely had its charm.

Like this. ^

We stayed in a monastery while in Venice, which was a period of 2 nights and basically 3 days. The monastery was probably the safest place we'd ever stayed, and it was relaxing to be able to put our luggage away and feel like it was secure.

Going back to the charm, some of my fondest memories of Venice are listed below:

• Outdoor music - on St. Mark's Square, a quartet performed lively music for all to enjoy
• Fruit stand - the most beautiful fruit (delicious strawberries!) ever!
• Early morning on St. Mark's - we took pictures in the morning before the crowds came out. We actually saw locals going on their morning jog or taking their dogs out.
• Successfully ignoring all the people who think you're a vulnerable tourist - haha! This one was always fun! We got roses, sunglasses, and umbrellas pushed in our faces, they learn quickly if you'll take the bait or not!
• Meeting an Irish couple - P & C were the sweetest couple ever! We enjoyed talking to them on the train from Florence to Venice. It was refreshing to find someone who spoke good English, and it was also fun to hear their Irish accents! We saw them again right before we left Venice.
• Walking up one alley way and down the next - each corner has something new to see!
• The hospital - we followed the signs for the hospital, made it to a totally different part of Venice, and when we made it (!), walked inside the hospital! :) It was strikingly beautiful. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but we did walk up and down the main hall and soak it all in.

Even though Venice wasn't as charming as I was hoping, I still could've used more time there. ;) If I ever go back to Italy, I'll have to visit Venice again.