Venice!

We decided we wanted to see as many neat things as we could before little Robbie goes back to Texas, and heard that Venice was an easy trip from Ferrara. Robbie had the day off on Friday, so we decided to hop on the train and head to  Venice for the day.

It was beautiful. I feel like most of these posts are going to be the kind where there isn't much I can say about it and just post a bunch of pictures, but I'll try.  The train ride was a straight shot (no train changes) from Ferrara and took a little over an hour.  It was actually really comfortable and nice--definitely a good way to see the country.

Then we arrived in Venice.  It was beautiful from the first glance out of the train station and I made Robbie take a picture of us, but that was nothing compared to the rest of the city.

We first stopped and had lunch at a pizza restaurant that took FOREVER.  We had been warned that in Italy sometimes things don't really happen on a schedule. It's very laid back and the land of "domani" (tomorrow). Apparently this can be especially true in the restaurants where they take awhile to get around to you, but we hadn't experienced that in Ferrara.  But, we finally got food, drinks, ate, paid, and were on our way.

We knew we wanted to get to Piazza San Marco, but kind of took the scenic way around.  The streets are gorgeous. The canals are wonderful. Some of the streets are just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.  I loved walking through and seeing laundry hanging from the windows and stuff. It was very charming.

It was also very hot and humid. And crowded.  There were places where really only two people could fit side by side, and people would stop in front of you for no reason and completely block the way which got frustrating.  It was very touristy--lots of shops that all sold the same things (postcards, keychains, and carnival masks).

We finally got to the Piazza and looked around. It was huge and stunning. Because it was so hot, we opted not to wait in the long line to actually go into the cathedral, so that'll be something we do next time. But even just the outside is impressive.  Michael liked the pigeons.

We sat for a little while on the steps down to the water and just hung out before walking back to the train station.  We probably walked about 5 or 6 miles, which is a lot in 100 degree weather, and even more with a 20 pound baby on your back.  But overall, it was a really fun trip and we can't wait to go back when it is cooler and there are fewer people around!