Day 16 - Venice - Best Day Ever!

Venice is awesome. Since our Airbnb host is so great, she left us with so much food that we didn't have to venture out first thing for breakfast and coffee. We were able to work out and eat toast with jam, fresh fruit, and coffee without leaving the house. After a late start, we set off for a do-it-yourself walking tour of Venice (which also included lunch of an amazing shared pizza and salad). We hit most of the main spots in just a few hours. We wandered through the touristy San Marco's area, seeing the San Marco plaza and its famous basilica, clock and tower. We went to the top of the tower to get beautiful 360 degree panoramic views of Venice and the surrounding islands. Then we ventured to the next spot on our list - one of the oldest bookstores/libraries in the world. It turns out we had actually ended up in here hours earlier, not knowing what it was. After that, we went over to the famous Rialto bridge.

The San Marco tourist area that makes up most of these top attractions is cool, but jam packed with people. It made us so happy that we are staying in the Cannaregio neighborhood. We are about a 10 minute walk from everywhere on the island. But our neighborhood is quiet and empty and full of local spots instead of tourist traps. We are able to wander the alleys and bridges for hours, barely seeing anyone.

After the busy Rialto bridge, we headed home to relax and get ready for dinner. We found a great local restaurant on Yelp and walked the few blocks to get there early for a table. Good thing we did, because if was full about 5 minutes later. Dinner was amazing - grilled scallop appetizer, first course of black ravioli stuffed with ricotta and sea bass for me and scallop spaghetti for Tim, then we split the fish of the day special (7 different kinds of fish and shellfish). No room for dessert this time!!

Finally, we came home and drank the Prosecco left for us by our host and played several games of Chess and Checkers! So fun! Goodnight!!Read more