Lose Yourself in Venice, Part 1

So I've been hanging out in Munich for a little while. Knowing I'm surrounded in close proximity by 5-6 other countries has been killing me... I need to get out! When I found out Venice was only 5 hours away by car, I was dead-set determined to get the gang together and get on the road. So that's exactly what I did.

We took a drive through the a popular skiing destination for rich people, The South Tirols, which covers Austria and Northern Italy. The drive started out well but we hit a huge cloud bank, and most of the Alps were covered. It was still really nice!

We hit a bit of traffic on the way there, but the drive wasn't really that bad. Since it was on our route, we decided to make a pit stop in Verona, the famous city of Romeo and Juliet, on our way there.

It was over 80 degrees!! Such a change from the freezing German summers!

The arena where Gladiators fought

Streets of Verona

My first Italian Gelato!!!

Erik by the Bubble Gum Alley

Juliet's Balcony

And the courtyard where Romeo stood :)

Verona was really beautiful. It was very Italian in the architecture, with the pale oranges and pinks and the ornate white trim. We didn't stay very long because we were eager to get to Venice. I really didn't want to miss the sunset!!


So we got back in the car and finished our trip. Our hotel ended up being really nice! It wasn't on the island because we had a car, but it was just a short bus ride away. We took the bus onto the island and sat down to have dinner.

Erik's pizza had eggplant, salami, prosciutto, olives, artichokes, bell pepper, mushrooms, and eggplant on it! I was so jealous!

I could see dusk was coming so I hurried Erik up so we could make it to the Grand Canal by sunset.

Venice at dusk is gorgeous. All of the colors of the sky reflect on to the water and it looks like an oil painting. plus, the weather is finally comfortable enough to enjoy everything you see.

Ahh Venice at dusk! There was so much to take in I didn't even know where to look! I just had to stop, take a deep breath, and thank God for putting me here and making such a beautiful scene.

When most of the colors had faded, we decided to get some gelato! When my dad and Chris when to Italy, the thing I remember most about their trip is how much Gelato they ate!! Every since then I had always wanted to have some. Now, we have Gelato in Germany, and I thought it was good.. until I went to Italy!! We found this cute little place right on the ocean and got a couple of scoops. I decided I was going to try a new flavor every time, so I had Melon and Strawberry. Surprisingly, Melon was my favorite! It was delicious! Erik makes fun of me because I say everything is "the best thing ever". He says it's over-used and he can never really tell how good things are, because I love everything. After hearing me declare it, "the best gelato ever", Erik just kind of rolled his eyes and ignored me... but then he took one bite of his ice cream and said, "wow, this really is the best gelato ever!" HAHAHA it was such a momentous occasion for us!

Gelati Nico, a Venetian MUST DO!!

Now that it was pretty dark outside, all the lights of the city were getting turned on. The sky was dark but there were still lots of street lamps and windows lit up everywhere. It was great. We made our way through the alleys and dead-ends (stay tuned for part 2) to Piazza San Marco where the giant Basilica is.

The Basilica

The Plaza

Nook of Venice

Creepy alley

There were people playing music and people sitting on the steps, it was really nice.

After this, we walked to The Rinalti Bridge to see The Grand Canal at night. It was gorgeous! The lights were reflecting on the water and there were boats that went by--it was really nice!

The Bridge

Words/photos can't express how beautiful it was

After this, Erik and I were done. We met up with the girls we drove with, left the island, curled up in our hotel room, and were out cold in a matter of minutes!!

to be continued...