Venice (act four)

Murano was a lovely little island but I'm not sure we saw its best parts. We walked along several streets and all we found was either glass blowing shops or the stores that sell their products. Which, mind you, isn't a bad thing, just monotonous, so we didn't stay very long. You're getting as much of a glimpse as we did.

These lamps are so great! 

Goodbye, Murano!

Hello the last bit of Venice on Monday! The visiting girls and I are heading to Paris for the weekend, so I will see you on Monday. Enjoy your sunny days (hopefully)!

Espresso shots

Today Hannah, Robyn and I are up at 6, leaving the apartment at 7 and arriving in Amsterdam at 11. We get 8 hours in the city until we have to turn around and repeat the process backwards, arriving in Leuven at midnight. As long as every train goes exactly according to plan (oh pleeeeeeeease God, let it be so!) this is going to be a whirlwind trip into Holland! I can't wait to show them the city, still a favorite. How many favorites can one have...?

But I'm guessing at some point we'll be stopping for the Netherlands version of Italian to-go espressos like these guys did in Murano:

Not Burano, Murano. Burano has the cool houses. Murano has the glass blowing. But trying to determine if your water taxi was going to the right island got a little hilarious when they attendants were yelling "Bbbbooorano" or "Mmmoooorano" to help all of us tourists figure it out. More of Mmmmurano tomorrow!

Venice (act III)

Our second day in Venice we traveled to the nearby islands by water taxi. This is Burano:

This is Chris playing "defense" on my shot of this sign with his Mom's maiden name on it. I let him take it.

Nope, that's not my camera. That church tower really is leaning over like that.

It was such a beautiful and colorful place. It reminded me a bit of the Bahamas with their tropical colored houses. The sun and the playful tones made this island feel like paradise!

Venice (act 2)

Sunset alert! My family has always enjoyed our sunsets so the first day we were in Venice I wanted to track it down. At one of the "edges" of Venice, not very far from where we were staying, we waited while slowly others joined us to see it sink below the far off Italian hills. It was nice (understatement) to wake up from our Venetian naptime and get to see the sun go down just before dinner. 

I've got more Venice all week for you so if you're not sick of it yet, you might be. But probably not.

Venice (act one)

VENICE! 

Might be my favorite city yet. I know, I know. I'm always saying that. But it was warm and sunny and beyond beautiful. I think a long trip there is on the horizon sometime in the future... maybe when Chris is done with school. Graduation celebration trip...?

The canals were so enchanting and being lost was part of the beauty of it all. I could wander there for days. Especially because just around most corners, one can find Italian food being served up. I may have eaten pizza every day.

Today is a holiday in Belgium but I don't feel much like celebrating. Kelli and Dan left this morning and are in the air as I type this. I was supposed to be picking up Robyn and Hannah immediately after watching the aforementioned couple go through security but their flight has been delayed a whole 24 hours! Curse you KLM! If I haven't said it before, United is definitely the airline to go with.

In any case, Venice was magnificent and we will return to it (blog-wise) tomorrow. Enjoy your Monday!