Venice, Italy

After a short train ride, we arrived in Venice--unbelievable! It really is built on water:) We got off the train and had some confusion about which water bus to take to our hotel, while seeking guidance, we met, quite possibly, the oddest couple from Richmond, CA--Jillian thought they were brother and sister....even asked them...haha! We finally got the bus right, but were immediately scolded by the "bus driver" to take off our backpacks and get out of the way of the exit! We took a beautiful boat ride to our hotel, trying to take as many pictures as possible.  It was really hot, so upon getting off the boat, we stopped to taste a popular local cocktail....delicious and hit the spot.  We got to our hotel easily, only to find that without an elevator, we were going to carry our 50 lb bags up three flights of stair since our room was on the third floor---ugh!  Our hotel was in short walking distance to Piazza San Marco, we walked around to get familiar with the area. A little later on we found a restaurant for dinner near our hotel overlooking one of the canals.  The next morning we were up bright and early to see all that Venice had to offer. There were cruise ships docked everywhere, which meant that the streets were very busy. First stop was a gondola ride where we were able to see the city by way of the grand canal. We visited the Rialto Bridge and had lunch near it-good suggestion Susan.  We then went to Piazza San Marco to enjoy the sunshine and Prosecco.  As we sat people watching, we met a couple from Florida. They were fun to talk to and also gave us a great restaurant suggestion in Rome; which was our next stop.  To continue our buzz we headed to Harry's Bar for the famous Peach Bellini and also enjoyed the atmosphere. We had to navigate home across the city to freshen up and head out for dinner near our hotel. They had live music, outdoor seating and the pasta was delicious. The next morning we headed to Rome...