The Best of Venice

Besides the fact that Venice is completely overrun by tourists, it is a really fascinating city. Because of the wonderful people we met, we were given a chance to experience a more authentic Venice- when the sun goes down and the tourists go home (and the Spritz comes out!). It seems that even the people who were from Venice tended to get lost in the crazy maze of narrow streets, canals, and bridges. But that just made it more fun.

Venice has a number of islands to explore and the metro system is a series of boats. We bought a transportation pass when we got there and then were able to just hop on as many boats as we pleased. We briefly explored the islands Murano (famed for its glass), Burano (awesome colored houses) and Giudecca (where we went to an art exhibition).

Our stay ended with a huge local celebration and fireworks display, (that we were not expecting at all) and a slew of new friends!