1st and definitely not the last trip to Venice

Well, we finally made it to Venice! We were going to go Saturday, but it was rainy and dreary so we went on Sunday. For those of you living in Dallas or Tampa we taped one of those holiday greetings on Saturday. I was terrible, but oh well. Jacqueline and Julia were cute.

We found the Sacile train station after not listening to our nav (we haven't figured out all the quirks of it yet so it tells you to turn when there is no turn). We hopped on the train for the hour train ride to Venice. We were the only Americans in our car. These young (20ish) kids were sitting across the aisle from us. I just wanted to giggle the whole trip. No American 20 yr old man would be caught dead in what they were wearing, and I know they thought (and by Italian definition they did) they looked cool. They were wearing huge sunglasses, black shirts and white pants (tight not baggy) with spiky hair. The girls were wearing their Dolce and Gabbana big belt buckles. I guess everyone from the surrounding area goes into Venice for a day too.

The train drops you off in Venice so it was terrific. We saw the long lines at the vaporetto station so we decided to keep moving forward and walk. We encountered our first of many bridges making this city very unfriendly for strollers. We felt we had to bring it in case JD wanted to nap. We won't bring it again as it was a pain in the rear end (I'd love to say another word b/c that's exactly what it was, but I'll be polite).

Venice seemed small at first. It's dirty, but I reminded myself it is old and sinking. Also, many of the residents have moved out and the apartments are owned by people who occasionally vacation there. Graffiti was everywhere and it was terribly CROWDED. We didn't have our map out as we were too busy trying to carry our stroller. Michael kept asking me if I knew where I was going, but I didn't, of course . I just followed the crowd as I thought someone in it would know where we all were going.

We eventually broke away from the crowd when jd spotted some cookies outside a church! Well, mass had just let out and they were having their fellowship hour. The people kept giving jd cookies and chips with a coke to top it off. Boy, that nap won't be likely now. In true Italian style, they also were serving wine. I thought I need KR here as she would love it! 8:45 fellowship would change if we did that!

JD loved all the bridges and boats. She kept asking me what they were for so I had some fun making-up things besides repeating over and over, "that's how they get around." I can't recall when they put railings across the bridges, but I can't imagine the number of people who fell in before they were put up.

We found a lovely piazza to have lunch in away from all the crowds. It was such a beautiful crisp fall day we chose to eat outside. What is so terrific about Venice, you don't realize initially, is that there are no cars! It is quiet b/c of this and there is no dodging traffic, just people. Our lunch wasn't spectacular, but the setting was terrific and our waiter was funny. The guy next to us had a fish for lunch, and they brought it out whole. JD watched the process when she saw the fish being rolled to the table. The waiter whacked off the fishes head, put it on a spatula and playfully pretended to throw it at JD. Then he whacked off the tail and did it again. JD screamed and laughed. Then he gutted the fish. Her eyes were big now and we had to tell her not to watch the guy eat it b/c her mouth was still hanging open. She also loved the potty. No squatter this time, much to her dismay. This one had the plastic on the seat where you push a button and it just goes around and around and around. Well, we almost stayed there all day watching a toilet seat in Venice.
Of course, when we finished lunch, JD had to find gelato. And what do you know, there was a gelatria around the corner with a big ice cream cone in front. She picked Vanilla. YEAH (not hard to clean out of clothes). There was a scrumptious bakery across the street. I gained 5 lbs. just smelling the cookies.
We wandered some more and eventually found the Grand Canal. I couldn't believe the size of the gondolas. I just always thought they were small, but they are huge. The strength to operate them is incredible. It was absolutely fascinating to watch.
The crowds got big again and we were jostled around going to San Marco Square. I wasn't too impressed with it, but it was maybe b/c the crowds were so large and it's dirty, but I could look past it and see the beauty of Venice. JD loved the pigeons. They were jumping all over her including her back, and she just thought that was the funniest thing.
After being poked and prodded enough we walked over to the vaporetto station and jumped on #1, like the guidebooks recommend, to head to the train station. Michael looked and me and said, "Uh, the max occupancy is 215 and there are way more people on this boat than that!!!" as we were being squeezed to the side. Luckily, we ended up standing on the outside of the boat for the 40 minute boat ride back. It was a lovely boat ride back to the station.
We can't wait to go back sans a stroller and explore more of Venice. It is a charming city with many nooks and crannies, right in our backyard plus it was only an 8 E roundtrip ticket!
Guess who was on our train again? The boys with the white pants! What better date for a Sunday afternoon than Venice?