Whirlwind adventure part 1: Venice

VENICE! After a bone chilling but cozy christmas in the austrian alps, I was content to move to a warmer climate. The train ride between Innsbruck and Venice was absolultely stunning! You go through countless tunnels, and over many bridges until you emerge from a mountain tunnel and see something rather strange...the color green!!! All of the sudden, we found ourselves in Italian wine country, low rolling hills, small cute italian style homes, and castles! My favorite part of the ride however was when our train rolled on tracks right over the ocean! I was so happy to see water that I leaped out of my seat and ran to the door with my backpack, ready to explore the island of Venice.

This is a photo of the Grand Canal that cuts through the Island. I was so happy to see color again, including the lovely colors of the sky! No more grey!

Despite Venice's reputation for being impossible to navigate, Kevin and I easily found our hotel and got comfortable in our room. 

Our room with a view of a side canal! So exciting!!!

Every morning I was awaken by the stirring below our window of Venetians getting ready for the day, like a normal city, but with BOATS instead! So cool! I would open the shutters and watch the sunrise, and look at the venetians below commuting to work or delivering supplies to the bakery across the "street". 

Our goals were to see St. Marks square, including the hoards of pigeons, spend time by the ocean in the sun, and get completely lost in the back alleys of Venice. I am happy to say we accomplished all 3. 

St. Marks was you typical touristy place to be. So very beautiful but kind of stressful. I was happy to spend time in the sun by the water, where we had a lovely pic-nic. 

Gondolas put away for the off-season

Oh no! Venice is flooding!

The next day we had a new goal. Take a gondola ride! Another success! They sure do drive a hard bargain. 

Our gondola boat:

Kevin and I in the boat with our gondola guide in the back:

Well we didn't call it a whirlwind trip for nothing!!! Luckily 2 days in venice was all we needed to see just about everything. We seemed to avoid the notoriously awful food they target to tourists and ate at some great places, including a Jewish kosher restaurant that made the second best falafel I've ever had!

Next up, Valencia, Spain!!!