Three Days in Venice

It's about time I knock-out a post on our three days in Venice earlier this month last month.

Venice was really the whole reason why we took this trip to the Mediterranean. My sister and her husband were planning on wrapping up their 20 year anniversary celebration in Italy with three days in the floating city...and so we said, "You two could probably use some company." It was all rather spontaneous - we used the excuse of our ten year anniversary(!!!) - and I'm so glad we did. To meet up like this was really a once in lifetime event.

My brother-in-law organized a walking tour for us one morning - The Ecology of Venice. Our tour guide Luca, a marine biologist who gives tours on the side, was a wealth of information. We learned all about the history of the city and why it's *sinking*, he pointed out all the ways Venetians are trying to slow the process of erosion, helped us read buildings by pointing out the salt collection on their facades left after water has been absorbed and then released, and so on and so forth, and on and on and on. Luca, sweet sweet Luca, his tour was only meant to be two hours but after three-point-two-five we had to gently cut him off so we could get on with our lives.

Above, you can see a metal stair placed at the front door. The original stairs sat about one and a half feet under water.

The most surprising thing I learned on our Ecology of Venice tour was that all of Venice's raw sewage flows through them. I guess that explains why only drunk Americans can be seen swimming in these waterways. Luca said that Venetian children have a long tradition of pooping, flushing and running to the window to see their work wash out into the canal below.

On to dessert! Above was a window we passed everyday on our way out of our hotel. How I wish I could have brought a fish made of marzipan back to my little fly fisherman with a passion for almonds.

I carried around the information for the bakery that sold these out-of-this-world macaroons for a very long time. I have since misplaced it. :(

I just love this picture of my sister...and this one of her husband. :)

Our best meal in Venice - if you can believe it - was a vegetarian restaurant off the beaten path. It felt like Osteria La Zucca might be a local favorite, if that's even possible in Venice anymore. Every small dish we ordered and shared was incredible, our favorite being the pumpkin flan. The restaurant shared their recipe with me, in Italian, of course. We snapped a picture of it and I'm hoping to ask a friend for translation. More on that later...

Of course, I wasn't letting anyone leave Venice without a gondola ride.