I think by now you probably are aware that Italy is my favorite European country. The sites, food, activites, and all around atmosphere. Any place where the top foods are pasta, cheese, bread, and wine is the place I need to be.

Venice was beyond interesting. Lots of bridges and waterways. No cars. And gondola's everywhere. It felt like you were floating.

Our first must see was the Rialto Bridge. The bridge is over the Grand Canal and the oldest bridge in Venice that crosses over the canal. This area was full of tourist. We quickly made our way through the tiny alleys between the buildings and over bridges to our home for the week. Thank goodness for google maps or I would have never found my way back to the bridge alone.

We spent our first full day in Venice at San Marco Square. As soon as we popped out of an alley we were given this view of St Mark's basilica. So beautiful and intricate. We didn't check out the inside because we had tour tickets next door at the Doge's Palace.

We booked the Secret Passage Tour of the Doge's Palace a few weeks in advance since we were traveling during peak tourist season and ended up spending most of the day here. The Doge's Palace is a gothic palace where Venetian government took place. This photo is from the upper level looking down into the courtyard. There was no good way to get a picture of how huge this palace was.

Our tour took us behind the scenes, up to the torture rooms, attic, and below to the many prison cells. This was also the place that Casanova was imprisoned and also escaped from. He was the only person who managed to escape from the terrible prisons. Our tour guide was a fabulous story teller!

There was room after room of paintings. Floor to ceiling. Literally every ceiling was covered in paintings.

We even walked from the court to the prisons through the bridge of sighs. It is said that after the prisoner is sentenced they walk through the bridge to prison and get a very small glimpse of the outside world one last time and sigh.

We spent one day in Venice on the island of Murano. This island is a short water taxi ride from Venice. The island is well known for its glass blowing activities. Most of the businesses offer a glass blowing demonstration before shopping in their store. We started at Vetreria Guarnieri Di Levorato for a demonstration and shopping. We even ended up here as our last stop as well to make a few purchases.

Aside from gelato, one of my other refreshing finds was the Aperol Spritz. Thank you kind lady sitting next to us at a restaurant one night that actually handed me her glass to taste before I ordered my own. It was my beverage of choice all through Italy. It is a tangy, refreshing orange drink. Perfect for the extremely hot days!

Here is a recipe to try it yourself.

Aperol Spritz

Ice
3 Parts Prosecco
2 Parts Aperol
1 Splash of Soda

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