Vibrant Venice! 🌉

Wow and double Wow!! We walked by this photo shoot early this morning on a stone bridge in Venice. What a beautiful Italian city! It has 118 islands with 400 bridges connecting them. It is picturesque with brick stones and outdoor markets. The center of the city is Piazza San Marco that sits on the waterfront .🚣 You can take a $100 gondola boat ride or a $5 water taxi through the canals. It is like a time tunnel into the past. 🍝

The history of this unique city began in 420 B.C. when it was a muddy swamp. It has always been a trading center with its access to the waterways. Silk, tea and coffee were popular items to trade long ago. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🌎 Venice was conquered by Napoleon in 1797. It is still difficult to get goods in and the rubbish out of the city. It is also an expensive city to live in. 🇮🇹
    
Morning coffee is a treat in the tiny cafes that open at 6 am. We watched  groups of men come into the coffee bar drinking espresso on their way to work. ☕

By 7am, groups of women stopped by the cafe to chat and sip on their way to work. They bought cannolini for a sweet treat. Cafes are a busy place to begin the Venetian day. ✴️

Venice offers a glimpse into the past with canals, bridges, cobble stone streets and buildings. 🌉

Fish, polenta and grilled octopus are popular dishes to try in Venice. 🐠 Pizza ovens are forbidden due to fire regulations. We ordered pizza from a regular oven. It was still delicious topped with Italian cheese.🍕

There is always live music in the streets and restaurants. This photo was taken in the famous San Marco Square late at night under a full moon.🌕 Some say it is the most scenic city in the world.🏰
 
Cars are not allowed in this elegant city. It is easy to imagine women in long dresses and men in top hats and black suits going to the famous Opera House. 🎭


Wining and dining are a pasttime in Venice. The pasta is amazing in the small cafes with white linen tablecloths. There are so many restaurants to choose from! 🍝

                                    Venetian masks are sold in small shops around the city. They are colorful and theatrical. We bought one to take home and hang on our wall. A Venice Memory ‼️👹 Here is a photo of our favorite mask shop "Cristal Star".


This photo was taken on a narrow street lined with tiny shops near our hotel. 🏨 The Italian boys waited patiently for their mama to finish shopping. No one was even watching them! 
The gondolas are difficult to steer with long paddles standing up in the boat. We watched them maneuver the gondolas for hours. What a skill! Viva Venice! 🇮🇹

😲

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Technology Crash

Image
I didn't choose to have both my phone and computer crash on the the same day! However, that is what happened and now I am experiencing 'tech withdrawal.'A week ago, my phone screen began flickering yellow before it completely shut down. Within hours, my laptop crashed and then refused to turn back on. It was scary to lose two electronic devices in one day. I put my overheated laptop outside to sit in the cold, winter air for an hour. Then it suddenly restarted! Thank goodnesss! I am now using it to write this Blog. I had to mail my phone back to the dealer who is now repairing it under warranty. I am holding my breath! Our daily lives revolve around checking phones and laptops constantly for messages, emails, social media, movies and more. I must admit I feel a bit isolated without my phone. I didn't realize how much I relied on it until it stopped working a week ago. So what am I doing ...
Read more

Spring Time in New York 🌼

Image
Landing in New York is a kaleidoscope of tall, brick buildings, blue rivers and bare trees in April. 🏫 There are still patches of snow as we drive north through rolling hills. ☁️ The sky is a mass of grey clouds and I'm glad I brought my winter coat. The forests are covered with a cushion of buds on the branches giving a hint of Spring in the air.🌱  Our oldest son Karl works at an idyllic boarding school nestled in the countryside north of the city. 🏫 We spent his birthday driving a few hours north to Woodstock complete with old hippies, young yuppies, funky shops and organic restaurants. 🕊️   🌼 We ordered scrambled tofu for breakfast with only two bald headed hippies eating nearby. One of them told the waiter that he used to dine here years ago and still remembered Mary the cook. He wondered if she still worked there. The waiter nodded, went to the tiny kitchen and returned with the infamous grey haired Mary who looked him up and down and told hi...
Read more

Live With the End in Mind

Image
  Life is full of unanswered questions. Would we live our lives more fully if we knew when we were going to die? I don't really want to know my end date. 📅 I prefer to think I'm going to live a long, happy life with my husband, children and grandchildren. I intend to enjoy each day and follow my daily routines. 👍 I enjoy starting each morning with freshly brewed coffee ☕️, a walk🚶‍♀️, and hopefully a quick trip to the gym.🏋️‍♀️ I also enjoy substitute teaching, 📚 reading a books, 📖 going out to eat, 😋 and looking for treasures at Target. 🛍  The author Barbara Becker explores living our lives more fully in her recent book, "Heartwood." The title refers to the center of trees 'heartwood ' that stays firm when the wind blows. Like 👍 the trees, we need to stand firm, but live with the 'end in mind.' What better way to start the new year than to focus on finding daily joy in our lives? 😃 Author Becker writes about her close friend that was dying. ...
Read more