Venice, Italy.

I remember my sister-in-law Amber telling us to avoid Venice Thursday through Sunday, but with the weather and all the stops we wanted to make, we ended up in Venice on a Saturday.  Along with 4 cruise ships!  I had been to Venice before and it was crowded then, but it was really crowded this time.

We stayed in Mestre and took a 2 minute bus ride to Venice.  We spent the day wandering around crowded shopping streets and empty alleys.  We saw all the big sights--Saint Mark's Basilica, took a water taxi through the Grand Canal, and tried to find shade in the Piazza San Marco.  I loved just taking pictures of the smaller waterways and homes.

Gondolas.

An alley.

Busy waterways--I am not sure if there were any "rules of the road" between boats.

One of many little bridges.

Not sure which building this is . . . . opposite the water from Piazza San Marco.

We picked up two venetian carnival masks for the girls (their souvenir from Europe) and Chris found a new wallet--so despite the crowds we had a fun time.

The best thing about Venice this time was the food.  On our way out of the city we stopped at what looked like an Irish pub and had the most fantastic lasagna I have ever eaten!  It may be worth a return trip to Venice some day.