Beautiful Venice...

We snuck away to Venice for a few days last week and, oh my, it was so beautiful! It was somewhere we had both always wanted to go and it was also my first ever trip to Italy, I loved it so much :)

It was initially forecast to rain the whole time but the sun came out and shone on us most days...even though the wind meant we had to keep our winter coats firmly on!

Venice has got to be the most iconic place I have ever visited. It was somewhat surreal to find myself there in the middle of the famous sights, feeling like I knew it so well but really knowing nothing about it all. Over the years we have watched documentaries, read books and visited art exhibitions about Venice, it would have been easy for our expectations to be too high but it was everything we hoped it would be and more.

But to be honest, the ice cream would have made up for any disappointment.

We packed in a lot of walking but it was so relaxing to be walking around with no time limit or agenda. We arrived in the afternoon of Monday and spent the rest of that day and then all of Tuesday exploring the different districts. Venice is full of narrow alleys and beautiful bridges over quiet canals. We kept coming upon beautiful buildings and squares which were deserted...in any other city they would be a main attraction yet Venice seems to be overflowing with them.

We didn't bother going on a gondola... this is going to seem very unromantic but it was ridiculously expensive for what it was! I think in the Summer you could probably group up with people but we didn't mind too much. There is a water bus so we went up and down the grand canal in that a few times...hence many of our photos being lopsided from the current!

On the Wednesday we visited the main attractions - we went up the campanile (the bell tower in st Mark's square) and visited to the Doge's Palace and the Cathedral. Everything felt so over the top and ornate...the Venetians were pretty sure of themselves back in the day and were happy to shout about it in style! Another highlight was visiting the Rialto bridge and market...there was so much fresh produce to drool over!

I would highly recommend visiting Venice, it was so lovely! It was the perfect size for a three night stay...we felt like we saw all that we wanted to and also fitted in visiting a neighbouring island. Visiting in March did mean it was a little cold but it was still lovely and sunny - and more importantly out of the main tourist season so we didn't have to queue for anything or struggle with crowds.

So long Venice - thanks for having us! and for the awesome ice cream :)