Venice

As many of you may know, I just went on a 16 day trip to Europe, with the highlight being a 12 day cruise through the Mediterranean Sea. This was in honor of my parents 40th anniversary and both of the children were invited as well. The trip started with a flight from El Paso to Chicago, where we sat on the tarmac upon arrival for about 20 minutes. When we finally exited the plane, we had less than 30 minutes to get to the other side of O'Hare airport to make our overnight flight to Munich Germany. We just made it, after cutting into the shuttle line and running down the concourse, we were the last into the plane. An 8 and a half hour flight later, with no sleep (can't do it on planes), we arrived in Munich, where we once again sat on the tarmac waiting for our gate to open. Once at the gate, we actually had an hour this time, but we had to go through customs, Mom, Dad, Stef, and Mike had to check in for the Venice flight, get through the SLOWEST security line ever, then had 10 minutes to run the length of the Munich airport. Only about 30 people were running for this flight, so they held it and we left about 35 minutes late. We took the short flight into Venice, and guess what? No suitcases. They most likely didn't make the connection from Chicago.

Since our cruise didn't allow us to board until the next day, we check into a hotel in Venice and began to see the sights. It was AWESOME!!!!

Venice stands about 30 inches above sea level and the highest point is the bell tower at St. Mark's Basillica. It stands 250 feet. The city is composed of 118 islands surrounded by numerous canals (about 150), the largest of which is called the Grand Canal. Many of the shots you see of Venice on TV and in print were most likely taken from the Grand Canal. There are 409 bridges throughout, with the most famous being the Rialto bridge. Since no cars are allowed, you have to walk, or take the "bus" which is actually a boat. They have a very well organized public transportation system, and I enjoyed riding it. Even deliveries are made by boat. We saw a DHL boat and a lot of deliveries.

After bridges, the item Venice has the most of is churches, I think I heard over 200. These are all amazing, with the grandest being St. Mark's Basilica. Unfortunately the Basilica was closed when we wanted to go in, but even the outside was spectacular. One of the big differences with churches in Europe is the art. Art is everywhere. Fresco's, painting, mosaics, and sculptures: almost every inch is covered in beautiful art. There are a few pictures below and will be several more as I update each city.

We spent part of a day on Murano Island, which is famous for its handmade glass. I bought a paper weight, picture frame, and some barrettes for Viviana. We got there a little late, so we couldn't see any glass blowing demonstrations, but we did see some very cool stuff. Some pictures are below.

Otherwise, we began to eat some amazing food, and see some amazing sights. Check back frequently for new updates and pictures. Enjoy your weekend.

Venice through the airplane window

Murano from the water taxi

One of the many churches I saw

From the water taxi

St. Mark's Basilica and bell tower

Close up of the basilica

Outside artwork on the basilica

This is a mosaic. Wow

Of course Venice is also known for the Gondoliers

Real Formula One Ferrari and the Ferrari store

Murano Glass

Yes, it really is glass

Cool isn't it?

Glass instruments

I want it all

Display cases like this were everywhere outside the shops of Murano

There was even little glass trinkets

I really liked ones like this

and this

Venice floods a lot, and this is in St. Mark's Square

Oops, I got stuck in it

It didn't seem to bother those at this cafe

Views from the top of the bell tower

Sculptures everywhere, this is one of a guy pouring something. Maybe it symbolizes the defense of a castle or something

Looking up St. Mark's bell tower

The famous Rialto Bridge

Looking off the Rialto bridge

Delivery "truck"

This restaurant picked up it's own flour

View of St. Mark's Square as our ship sailed away from Venice

A small section of our ship

The elevators knew what day it was

I will be highlighting a lot of the food. Both from the ship and in port. I will probably put the highlights of each day/port in each blog.

This is a fruit appetizer we had the first night on the ship.

Proscuitto and Melon

Pate a Choux swan filled with pastry cream

Some chocolate thing Erin had

Caprese salad at the restaurant in Venice celebrating Mom's birthday

Beef carpaccio. It was FANTASTIC

Mom's birthday cake

The biggest picture I ever saw. Check facebook for a different picture that really shows the size

First gelato. YUM!!