Thursday, November 8, 2012

Venezia


 rick steves writes..."travel is intensified living"
and i could not agree more with him.
traveling is..
educational.
exciting.
exhausting.
and
traveling with children...
we have learned..
takes both planning
and spontaneity.
our children are
17, 14, 10 and 3..
which also takes
a bit of creativity sometimes
to keep everyone happy 
when traveling.
but both steve and i feel
that for our family..
travel is important.

we try and stay with marriott hotels
whenever we can.
we (or i should say, steve) has a 
ton of points from traveling with work.
this is the ONE good thing
about his busy travel schedule..i think :)

we flew into bologna..
rented a NINE passenger
van and drove to the marco polo airport
in venice...about an hour and a half.
we parked the car and hopped on
a shuttle bus that should have taken
20 minutes but took about an hour and 20. 
roads were shut down for the venice marathon.
now, what i haven't mentioned yet..
is that we arrived during our own
hurricane sandy.
70 mile an hour winds
rain coming down sideways
and COLD.
those poor runners!




getting off the bus,
we finally found
the  right water taxi that
would drop us off at our hotel.
we were completely soaked
and tired from traveling..
but happy to be in venice.



we spent 3 days here..
marriott's boscolo hotel.
i was trying to figure out how
i could snag one of those chandeliers.


after filling our bellies
with pizza,
hanging our wet clothes all over 
the room,
and a good nights' sleep..
we woke up to a beautiful
but chilly day.


snow capped dolomites made for 
a lovely view from our room.


getting ready to board
the water taxi.



griffy doesn't like having
his picture taken.


off to st. marks square!


who doesn't love a boat ride?



the square was flooded
when we arrived.
there are elevated platforms
to walk on
for those of us that forgot
their rain boots.



the kids loved the venetian masks.



time for lunch.



typical street in venice.



gondola ride!
will's highlight of the whole trip.




by late afternoon
the water receded in the square
and filled with people,
pigeons, and vendors.


view from the rialto bridge.



steve and i went to venice
when we lived in germany
years ago.
stephen was only 2 years old.
it was valentines day
and carnivale and 
we were blessed with a warm
and sunny february day.
what a treat it was to
return with our family.

tomorrow..
off to tuscany! 































4 comments:

  1. These are breathtaking! Such a beautiful family. I too visited Venice for the first time with a two year old..and it was in Feb! (Many yrs ago)
    That lobby shot is a wow!...Janey

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  2. What a fantastic thing you are doing for your children! I agree, travel is important. You learn things that cannot be learned in books.

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  3. Pam, I mentioned you on my blog today...since you gave me the idea. Hope you don't mind...Janey

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  4. Hi Pam!!!!! OOOOh I LOVE Venice, such an incredibly beautiful and unique city! I love all the places I'm seeing here as I scroll down and can't wait to come back some afternoon and read through your adventures....will make time soon!!
    You left me a comment awhile back and I was so glad to hear from you, it seems you all are doing well and adjusting beautifully. I hope your littlest guy soon feels very much at home too:))

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