Buonasera Venezia

 When we honeymooned in Venice, we'd go into the historic zone before dawn and watch the city come awake as the sun rose. We'd ride empty vaporettos around and (pre-cell phone + google maps) just wander getting kinda lost. This time we stayed on the mainland and had a very jetlagged teen - not to mention an incredible breakfast spread at the hotel that was so worth hanging around for - so we had to aim to explore the city at night in hopes of a reprieve from the heat and crowds. It was still sweltering. It was still a riot of people - water buses even more full than in the day! But it was magical, festive, and mysterious in a whole new way.

Though the Rialto Bridge was rebuilt in the late 1500s, it is the oldest crossing of the Grand Canal, originally constructed in 1181. We didn't want to pack in like sardines to try for photos from the bridge, but being good little tourists, we did have to capture it from the Canal.

Being so close to Murano, we were treated to frequent sightings of breathtaking glass art, including these magnificent illuminated sculptures along the water. It was challenging to get clear photos from a rocking waterbus, but you will hopefully get a feel for how grand and glorious they truly are.

There were so many styles of arches, windows, and facade decorations. A guided tour would have been fantastic, but just relaxing and simply enjoying the beauty was also quite delightful.

I would love to be able to just live in any one of them for a week, just to experience the feel of the place.

Carefully considering which has the most secrets, which would be haunted, which would be the most fun to explore...

In contrast with the locals who are all glued to their phones as the spectacular night floated by.

Perhaps after a few years of living here this view gets old?

After not making it onto the next, ridiculously packed bus with revelers aggressively pushing the tourists aside, we decided to walk a bit, hoping we wouldn't miss the last (street) bus back to our hotel.

Even in our haste, hoping we weren't making too many wrong turns, we got to see some cool store fronts we would have missed during the day.

And finally we were back at the regular bus stop, grateful our route was not nearly as popular as some! Luca's phone died before this bus got fully packed with the driver coming out and forcing the doors closed, mushing passengers in as tightly as possible. I wonder if many riders miss their stops simply because they couldn't maneuver through the crowd to disembark.

I love how different life is in Venice compared to anywhere else I have visited. It is rich in unique charm and character. We spent a little more time in the region, which will fill future posts - extending what was not a super long vacation into a brilliant + joyful distraction from this insufferable heat, LZ being sick for too long, M traveling for too long, my MIL in the hospital for too long, and other challenges that awaited us upon return. Honestly, though, I have zero complaints. 💗 Life is full + I absolutely wouldn't have it any other way. 💗