A Return to Venezia

Oh Venezia. When Mom, Jewel, and I decided to go to Venice after Verona, I somehow thought that I would be a perfect tour guide. I had been a few months earlier to the sinking city for Carnivale, and thought I had sort of got the hang of it. Turns out, other then gaining the aptitude for finding "Rialto" and "San Marco" signs, Venice was as stupefying the second time as it had been the first.  

Still, you can only experience something for the first time once, and I had some idea of what to expect. Jewel & Mama, however, did not; it was nearly as enjoyable to watch them see Venice for the first time as it had been to experience it. 

What's better, is that with the exception of Piazza San Marco and the Ponte Rialto (both predestined), nearly every place we ventured I had not actually been before. Venice is a maze, even more so than I realized during my first trip.  

We spent most of our Saturday wandering the maze-like alleys, gawking at picturesque canals, and popping in & out of shops. 

When we finally stumbled into Piazza San Marco we found the reason we had seen people toting questionable head wreaths: Happy Graduation to whatever class of 2014 was celebrating in the square that day. Imagine getting to graduate in the most famous square in Venice. Kind of blows a freshly mowed football field out of the water. 

The Bridge of Sighs, the bridge that linked the Doge's Interrogation room to the across-the-canal prison, one of the most famous monuments in Venice. This famed structure, is what I somehow missed last time around (probably by being distracted by everything else) and I didn't even realize I had missed something until I saw a replica in Oxford a month later. Thank goodness for a Round #2 so I could make up for my mistake. 

Possibly the best part of Venice was my traveling ladies' happy faces. 

No trip to Venice is complete without a Gondola ride. I think it's fair to say, Bellini's in hand, we had a perfect row through the canals. 

It was only, unfortunately, over too soon. 

With the farewell to the Gondola, it was back to the Rialto, to see what I (and every photographer in history) still believes is the most picture-perfect view in Venice. 

After a brief trip to refresh at our hotel, we set back out to explore the twinkly waters.

Waking up the next morning early enough to make the most of our time left in Venice, we set out to make all of Jewel and I's dreams come true. 

My dream, was in the form of small fishies that ate my feet. Known as "Doctor Fish" you are inclined to stick your feet into what is essentially a fish tank while you get a "fish pedicure" to remove the dead skin from your feet. And I may be a weirdo, but it. was. so. cool! 

Jewel's dream was a little less creepy: Strawberry Meringue. More specifically a meringue the size of her head that she could consistently eat for three days. 

After making dreams come true, we explored some more. 

All at once it was time to depart from Venice. I'm trying to decide how my opinion of Venice has changed from the first time, and I'm not really sure. I love it still, but it perplexes me, because really, there is not other place on earth like Venice; culture and structure, Venice is an anomaly 

Yours, Kenna