Amore

I love Venice! The water, the buildings, the history. It's really a small town and the feeling is friendly and indulgent. We arrived in the rain by train from Mestre, on the mainland. (We left our car by the side of the road and crossed our fingers.) Directly out front of the train station is the start of the grand canal. We hopped on a vaporetto, travelled down a side river, shot out into the open ocean and arrived at out stop on the outer side of Venice. I think I have been missing the ocean, the smell and the feel of the water, it was fabulous.

Grand Canal

Happy day on the water

We spent the next day, Toby's 16th birthday, travelling on the slow vaporetto just watching the people and getting a view of the ornate palaces, chandeliers, gondolas, water taxis, kayaks, barges, police boats

Venetian traffic jam

Venetian parking lot

Venetian scooters

and the disappearing first floors of many building. There had been a flood the day before we arrived and many buildings had hoses pumping water out of their ground (or water) level floors. We spent a wonderful half hour watching gondolas and water taxis negotiating an intersection under a bridge. Very narrow openings to the side 'rivers' and these long boats can easily make a 90 degree turn. San Marco's square was a madhouse. Our first experience with crowds, we dodged cameras and pickpockets and even watched a commercial being made (or a scene from a movie, we couldn't figure it out). Wonderful. Norm and I went to watch the night crowds at the Rialto bridge. I was a little surprised that the buildings along the canal were not lit up, lots of action at street level but the levels higher up were shuttered. Pity.
Our second day we took the vaporetto all around the outside of the main island of Venice and took a little side trip to the island of Murano where all the glass factories are. The trip took over an hour and a half before we arrived at the train station and headed to the mainland. Sightseeing on the open ocean.
So many things to see, so much history, I was charmed.