The last part of our Italy trip was spent in Venice, a place that’s notable for its canals and gondolas. We stayed in an old, but lovely hotel where you had to leave your key with the desk before venturing outside.


It was a very short walk from there to the magnificent St. Mark’s Square (also called Piazza san Marco). Here are some of the sights.

And here’s one place where the gondoliers docked their boats.
While strolling through Venice, we came across this nice little park where we just had to take pictures.
Venice is an awesome place for strolling, because it’s an island so you can’t really get lost. I have a great sense of direction, but when I went for a walk, I got all turned around. Nonetheless, I was able to find my way back to St. Mark’s. While trying to get my bearings, I happened across this bridge where I took more photos.
While we were in the area, we took a boat to Murano, where they make Venetian glass. Here is an example of a huge glass sculpture.

And here’s the biggest collection of rolled gold I’ve ever seen.

Naturally, we took a gondola ride while we were there. Unfortunately, it was drizzling. Not an ideal day for picture taking or gondola rides, for that matter.

We were fortunate to capture some photos of St. Mark’s at night without having to worry about the weather. The outside cafés were awesome, since you could sit in the chairs and listen to the bands without paying for the overpriced espresso.

Ciao Italia … Hope to see you again someday.

Originally published on Medium.