love it? hate it? venezia

We'd hoped to tack on a visit to Venice when we visited Rome last summer, but it just didn't seem to work. Plus anyone we'd ask who had previously visited either loved it or hated it. Despite mixed reviews, we decided faire du pont ("to do the bridge" - it's what the French say when there is a holiday on a Thursday and you decide to take off Friday from work to "bridge" the holiday and weekend) and check it out for ourselves.

We immediately fell into the love it category. Maybe because we love anything water. Maybe because we visited before it got warm and the canal had the chance to smell. Maybe it was because we stayed in a fantastic place with only nine rooms and they called you by name. I don't know, but it's going in the books as one of the best trips so far!

We arrived on Thursday afternoon; after taking a water bus from the airport to the city, we spent the rest of the day just roaming the streets and getting lost. On Friday, we'd planned to visit St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, but the hotel suggested a walking route and we were easily convinced. We visited the well known fish market, - but since we'd lived on the coast of France, it wasn't much of anything we hadn't seen before - dodged in between small alleyways and hopped across narrow canal bridges before finding a pizza place along the boardwalk.

We stumbled upon the gondola yard. Basically a shipyard for the popular romantic mode of transport.

We assumed the lines at St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace would be long by the time we reached them; mostly because of cruise ships docking for the afternoon and all the travelers trying to see all they could before having to leave. We were wrong about Doge's, so we took a quick look.

The palace once housed the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority. A visit to the prison came after crossing the Bridge of Sighs. This bridge got its name because those who were sentenced would sigh as they passed through the bridge and took one last glance at the city before being locked up.

We enjoyed a spritz, a Venetian aperitif (which turned into an everyday habit) on the terrace of our hotel and watched the boats on the Grand Canal before finding a place to indulge in some pasta and wine.

Another habit we adopted was visiting St. Mark's Square each night. Cafes along the square hosted five person orchestras. As they took turns playing, you could move a few feet to listen better or sit down and enjoy an expensive drink! I can't figure out what's not to love in this place!