The Magic of Venice

"I had my dreams of Venice, but nothing that I had dreamed was as impossible as what I found." - Arthur Symons

Venice is truly a magical place and to be able to introduce my mom and our girls to this fairytale city was almost surreal.  When I took this photo of the three of them in a water taxi upon our arrival, I had one of those pinch me moments.  Then my mom told me that she had dreamed of coming here ever since she was 12 years old and I had to fight back tears.  So blessed.

After we got settled in our apartment, the first order of business (requested by the girls) was a gondola ride.  As our gondolier propelled us through the narrow canals of Venice we commented how quiet and peaceful it was.  There was something so serene about that moment, floating through the canals with Randall, our girls and my mom.  At first my mom was disappointed we didn't have a singing gondolier, but later a local commented that this is actually a faux pas as it ruins the serenity of the experience.  And I believe she is right.  So if you are ever in Venice, skip the singing gondolier (and save a lot of money) and experience the stillness of Venice.

Following our gondola ride, we spent some time just wandering and exploring the narrow walkways and crossing dozens of bridges over the labyrinth of canals.  I was pleasantly surprised at how uncrowded it felt, as I had heard that Venice in the Summer could potentially be a nightmare.  Sure, as we got close to the Rialto Bridge things got crowded, but as long as we avoided the San Marco/very central area there really weren't a lot of crowds.  And while I would certainly recommend a visit to San Marco square and the Rialto Bridge, our favorite parts were when we were exploring a bit further off the beaten path.  I had purchased a little pocket sized book from Amazon, called "Kids Go Europe:  Treasure Hunt Venice" and we had a lot of fun hunting for the different things as we wandered & explored the different areas of Venice.  I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Venice with little ones as it provided just the motivation needed when little legs were tired & really didn't want to walk anymore.

On our second day in Venice we met up with Martina from Macaco Tours in Santa Maria Formosa Square for a Sketch Hunt tour.  The tour was 90 minutes long and the girls had to look for things pictured in images on their treasure map.  At each stop we learned a bit about the history of Venice and the girls had to sketch something to complete the picture.  It was highly entertaining for Kenzie and Lexi and Randall, Omi and I learned some things as well.

Martina introduced us to beautiful campos that Randall and I never had visited on our previous trip to Venice ...

... and brought us to a crazy bookstore (Liberia Acqua Alta) with books piled floor to ceiling, gondolas and bathtubs filled with books and even a staircase of books that provided a view of the canal.

After lunch in Campo S. Giovanni E Paolo, with a beautiful view of the marble facade of the old hospital, we meandered our way over to Piazza San Marco.

To escape the sun we found a shady table at Cafe Florian and enjoyed some gelato & drinks while listening to the band.  Quite pricey, but worth it for the experience to enjoy a treat at the oldest coffee house in continuous operation (it was established in 1720 ... if walls could talk).

The next day we were scheduled to catch a boat to the islands of Murano and Burano, departing from the San Zaccaria area in front of the lagoon.  We took the vaporetto (water bus) until we were close and then got off with the sole purpose of taking a traghetto, as it was on the must do list for the girls.  A traghetto is a flat bottomed/stripped down gondola that acts as a ferry to carry passengers across the Grand Canal.  It was a quick trip of less than 5 minutes, and much more rocky than the gondola ride, but it allowed us to check all of the boxes for modes of transportation in Venice for our scavenger hunt (water taxi, vaporetto, gondola, & traghetto).

Then we were off to the colorful islands of Murano and Burano in the Venetian Lagoon.  This was one of my favorite parts of the trip (perhaps because it was new for all of us), and I would highly recommend a visit to these two islands for anyone who has more than 2 days in Venice.

Our first stop was the island of Murano, famous for its colorful glass.  We visited a glassblowing workshop and got to see the highly skilled glassblowers at work - an art that is passed down from generation to generation.

We then made our way to Burano, which is probably one of the most colorful places in the world.  It is a small fishing community also known for the most sought after handmade lace in the world.  This is sadly a dying art, as they said the woman who was leading our demonstration was the youngest woman to have been officially schooled in lace making and that today it only continues if mothers and grandmothers pass on the skills.

They say that no two houses in Burano are exactly the same color, and one reason that was provided for this was that it made it easier for the fisherman to find their way home in the evening after a few drinks.  Not sure if that is the truth, but it sure does make for a pretty little community.  I fell in love with all of the colors and could have stayed and taken photographs for hours.

On our final morning in Venice, Randall and I went for a run and tried to go see any last sights that we had not made it to in the previous days.  We ran through the Mercato Del Pesce and saw more varieties of fish and seafood being sold than any other market we have been to.   

What a wonderful visit we had to city with no streets.  We loved exploring the wonders hidden in narrow walkways, on quiet canals and in lively campos.  I had heard that Venice could be difficult with kids, but based on our experience I would definitely recommend it.  While there is a lot of walking and there isn't the option of hoping in a cab to head back to the hotel as soon as little ones complain about being tired, there was so much for the girls to discover and see and we found the vaporettos fairly easy to navigate when they got tired of walking.

We also loved our apartment (rented through Views on Venice) in the Santa Croce neighborhood.  It was away from the crowded tourist areas but still within walking distance of most everything.  We witnessed a local wedding in the nearby square, Omi and Lexi joined in on some traditional dancing on Saturday afternoon, and we got to experience the beauty of wandering through quiet alleys and campos after the sun went down.

Thank you Venice for sharing your wonders with us!