Click your heels three times and repeat after me, “There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home.”
We are tired, our feet are sore, we miss our kids, and the thought of eating another bite of salami, prosciutto, pecorino, or any form of pasta causes us both to groan. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our last day in Venice by taking a long, slow stroll and getting lost again around this crazy island. We attempted to see both Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s, but met huge lines from the four gigantic cruise ships that had dumped its passengers onto Venice for the day. We’ll have to reserve the inside look at these landmarks for a future visit.
We much preferred the back streets and alleys to the main canal streets due to the crowds. Every city we have visited has been overflowing with tourists, but we felt it more in Venice.
Here are two of my favorite shots from the main canal today, taken from the Vaporetto:
Our final adventure included navigating a city bus ride into Mestre, the mainland city above Venice. Our flight leaves for Frankfurt so early in the morning, there would be no way to get off the island at the ungodly hour we need to leave without it costing us a fortune.
A jam-packed bus of locals, all of our luggage, a driver who spoke no English but kept yelling at his passengers in Italian, and a bus routing system more complex than any train system we’ve endured yet – that’s saying something! It’s a miracle we got off at the right stop and found our hotel. Thank goodness for google maps on my iPhone!
When I decided to write this blog, my goal was to document our trip as a way to keep a journal for Mark and me. I figured most would not be interested in reading the play-by-play of our vacation. However, I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by all the incredibly positive comments, emails, and posts. Thank you for taking an interest and sharing this amazing trip with us.
We will have a final post upon our return to the U.S. Think of it as a Top 10 list of the things we’ve learned along the way! Until then, please wish us safe travels on our 14-hour flight(s) back to Dallas. Ciao, Italia!
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