Other posts on this trip: We Spent Last Week in Italy, Wandering Treviso, Cortina, and Bologna, Museo Ferrari. 

The big draw, the real reason we were in Italy last week, was to see Venice. I’ve been to Rome, and I did an art librarianship course in Florence in grad school. I love Italy. But I’d never been to Venice.

So in between seeing the countryside we spent time in Venice, taking it in. The first day we took a water taxi in to Saint Mark’s Square, and that trip alone was just stuffed with things to look at.

A good number of the buildings along the waterfront had modern art installations happening, inside and out.

The local police checking out the speed camera. 

And then we headed to Saint Mark’s.

We sat and had coffee and ice cream at Caffe Florian, a 300-year-old cafe just to the left of St. Mark’s.

It was a beautiful cafe, but with prices that reflect its location. And a bathroom that scared H so badly I had to carry her out crying. The attendant moved us to a family-sized bathroom, and the faucets were also hand dryers. Which is my sensory kid’s biggest challenge on earth. It was not pretty, but she calmed down enough (eventually) to chase some pigeons through the square.

We wandered around, and I went to Bevilacqua, a three-hundred-year-old fabric shop with hand-woven Venetian fabrics. Which were completely gorgeous, and completely out of the price range of my mortal self. But so worth a look, and a trip.

The music museum. H chased more pigeons in the square outside, and yelled at one to come down and play with her right now when it flew up to a ledge above her.

We went to the Accademia. I took this one photo, which I think is of a Luciani painting.

And then dinner at a restaurant whose name I do not know, I’ll have to find out. But I had all of the things, like this gorgeous bufala caprese and a tiramisu that came in a jar.

On our other day in Venice, we went to the I Frari and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. But I also spent some time on my own wandering around, which was a big highlight for me.

I saw more lovely fabrics at Venetia Studium, which turned them into various home accessories.

And I bought a planner, because when you randomly pass a paper shop with beautiful things in Venice, and you see hand-stamped Venetian papers and notebooks, you go in.

There was more eating and more art. I also picked up some new leather gloves and a leather bag while wandering around, but I haven’t taken any pictures yet. Or sorted out my life. But this is my last Italian vacation post, I’ve combed through all of the photos I have, and I can’t say enough good things about this trip. It was just a beautiful week, with good food and things to see, time with good people, and some much-loved exploration on my own, too. Hopefully it won’t be another 11 years before I’m back in this amazing country.