Venice, Italy with Greg and Katie

I am not sure how all the stars aligned and we have had so many friends to meet up with in Europe this year.  I truly didn't know we were in such a jet setting crowd!  In September, Greg and Katie Wiest, our best friends from California, took a two week vacation to Italy.  And who can pass up a week's vacation in Italy with friends and wine?  Not me!

 



How is it that the Italians thought this was a good idea?  Really!


We met them in Venice.  I had been to Venice with Paula while we were in college and studying in Wales, but it was December and much soggier. 



I remembered these striped poles
from my first visit.  Each family
had a specific color back in the day.










To live here must be divine but expensive.  Sort of like Coronado, but in a sexier Italian kinda way!

   

These are the views from our bedroom in Venice!  It is a city like no other.  I am so glad that I came back as an adult and spent some time getting to know the area! 



Jeff gets credit for this picture, but don't ask me why he had our camera in the bathroom?  This is the first of several inspired "potty shots" that we will take.

 

Two Ships passing in the Night

The gondoliers hold licenses and were all male until just two years ago when the first female was accepted into their ranks.  You have to pass tests in Italian history and foreign languages in addition to skills tests on your ability to maneuver the gondola.  The color (black) and design of the gondola are also regulated.  They are all built by hand and made out of 8 types of wood and constructed in 280 pieces.





Did I mention the wine?  This is probably the most amazing wine shop that I have ever seen!  You simply bring your bottles to the store and they will refill them for you with any varietal of your choosing.  It was very inexpensive and yummy.  We should introduce this in the states.  If you can refill a growler with beer, why not wine?

I really loved our VRBO rental.  Katie spent a lot of time researching and booking for us and it was well worth it.  For the price of a hotel or less, we stayed in a two bedroom condo with a kitchen and away from all the tourists.  I'm quite sure that we would not have found the fresh market or the wine shop had we not been doing our best to blend in with the locals.

  

   

The architecture in Venice is very unique owing to its location and trading in the East.  The resulting style is known as Venetian Gothic.  Our stop on the Vaporetto (water bus) was Ca d'Oro "House of Gold" at the top left and is one of the best examples of the style.  On the right, an equally beautiful rustic brick building with blue shutters that open onto a courtyard.  


I could live there!

  

Interesting chimneys

 
The Rialto Bridge is beautiful but difficult to get a good shot of apparently.  There are shops all along the bridge where you can find Italian football jerseys if you are interested in that sort of thing.  Jeff and I had some great Italian food and wine with a view of the bridge on our first night in Venice.

The Rialto Bridge

We had warm sun and clear blue skies for our trip, making this one of the most difficult blog posts yet.  Venice was absolutely gorgeous and there are far too many pictures to choose from.