The day has arrived that we are headed for Italy! Up bright and early to start the 6 hour journey to Venice. The drive through the mountain made me feel at home. The snow and the rocky slopes, it was beautiful just like our Canadian mountain range. 

We wound through the mountains and tunnels on our way to Italy. The orchards of grapes, apples and olives were being inspected by the farmers. No fruit as of yet. 

We got to a port where we got off the bus and loaded onto a boat that took us to the sinking city of Venice. Venice was very busy. There were so many shops full of masks, Venetian glass, souvenirs and clothing. There was an incredible amount of people walking around trying to sell selfie sticks and flowers. I had never seen so many selfie sticks! 

The Saint Marco Basicila was gorgeous. The workmanship of the interior and exterior was incredible. It got me excited for the Vatican in Rome. 

Once the church had been explored, our whole group went on half hour gondola rides. It was sad to see how many buildings had been left to rot away. Wooden doorways with the bottom half clearly deteriorated off. 

The street were narrow and crowded but we managed quite well! We made it to the Rialta Bridge along the grande canal. It was a beautiful bridge. We decided to eat along the grande canal, with the bridge in view. I expanded my pallet by ordering cuddle fish with ink and polenta. It was not the prettiest looking dish but it tasted very similar to New England clam chowder but luckily had no dairy. 

We wandered around until our feet were sore but we still had two hours left before having to meet up with the group. We found a little cafe/bar with wifi and ordered some drinks. It was nice to relax after all that walking and drink Spritz and Bellini. 

It was beautiful to see the sun set while in Venice and to see it reflect on the gold on front of Saint Marco Basillica. We took the boat back to the bus and headed to the hotel for the night. Off to Rome on the morning!