Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy (Stop #1 on the Cruise):


I've finally returned from my Mediterranean cruise.  I've headed back to work, picked up my pooch from puppy camp, and put all my stuff away.  What's left of course are the pictures of the beautiful places Brandon and I visited for our belated honeymoon.  This wasn't your typical beachy cruise.  The places we visited blew my mind with the natural beauty and history.





We chose Costa which is an Italian cruise line for its affordablity and amazing ports.  We took a 9 hour train ride from Germany to Venice and spent the night in Ca' Lucrezia hotel which was literally around the corner from the train station.  It was a perfect location, but forget to duck into the first alley and you will miss it.  That night also happened to be Brandon's birthday so we had a birthday dinner of spaghetti and lobster.  Yum.


The Venetian Carnival masks.  I may have to visit Venice for Carnival.  I've heard it's crazy!

The next day we woke up early to walk the streets of Venice.  It was pretty much what I had expected, but a little less exciting.  We didn't have much time because we had to get to the port of call to board the ship by 5pm so we had to make sure to do the essentials.  I was hell bent on riding a Gondola.  We found a guy that was dressed in a striped shirt and hat and told us he'd take us around for 80 Euro.  It was very pricey and maybe a little overpriced but we took it.





This is similar to what the interior of our Gondola looked like.







Heading out into the Grand Canal.




View of Rialto Bridge.





They really do wear these shirts.  And the sound of Venetian accordion songs were in the air.




Our Gondola driver took us all the way to the San Marcos Plaza.




Here is the Doges Palace.  A very photographed image.  I wanted to explore the inside and see the beautiful interior, but the line was just too long for my patience.





I loved the pink street lights.







Image of an astronomical clock similar to the one we saw in Prague.








We decided to go into the shopping area because of course Italy is known for its great shopping.  They had all of the usual high end stores like Cavali and Chanel.  I don't even know why I go in them but to drool.


Brandon and I did however decide to get some new shades.  He bought himself a new pair of Ray Bans and he bought me a new pair of red shiny Versace sunglasses.  They are huge and I love them.




We had lunch in the shopping area as well.  I had some wine and yummy Italian salad.  Brandon had some more of the spaghetti that we enjoyed the night before with our lobster.  Anyone can make spaghetti, but Italians really know how to make a good spaghetti.  It's al dente and the sauces are amazing, especially paired with a good red wine.


After lunch, we had to take a water taxi back to the hotel to grab our things and head to the ship to board!  This is one of our water taxi views.





Once on the ship, we checked out our room and headed to the deck to bid Venice farewell and see the whole city from above.




This is a view of Venice from the ship.




So that was our port out of Venice and our first night on the cruise ship.  We had a lovely dinner and drank a lot.


Favorite thing about Venice:  
My favorite thing would have to be just the views in general of the Adriatic Sea.  The sun was shining and the breezes were blowing.


Next stop:  Bari, Italy


If you could spend one day in Venice, what would you do?












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20 comments :

  1. Hi Brittany, Hubby and I were married in Venice and went back in 2011 for a 2nd honeymoon. This time we also took a cruise to Athens and the Greek Islands. I look forward to seeing more of your trips.
    xx,
    Sherry

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  2. Hi Sherry,

    Wow, where in Venice were you married? Yea we did the Greek islands as well. Athens was huge! And the Acropolis was amazing! Thanks for reading!

    -Brittany Ruth

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  3. Nice work! What beautiful photos! I cry every time I have to leave Venice.
    Just one of the most magical places on earth.

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    1. Thanks MaryEllen,
      Venice is definitely one of those must see places. It's iconic and picturesque and everyone dreams of going there. I'm glad I got the chance to visit for a couple of days. Followed you on G+.

      -Brittany Ruth

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  4. How fun seeing your beautiful pictures of Venice! My husband and I honeymooned there, and it's still one of my favorite places I've traveled to!

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    1. Maria,
      Yep this was our belated honeymoon and his birthday happened to also be during the Venice trip. Who could complain about that and eating yummy Italian food? Followed you on Twitter!

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  5. oh my goodness, venice? Greece? prague? super jealous of all those vacations. your pictures are gorgeous! total inspiration. we're crossing off an Alaskan cruise and land tour from our bucket list in 2 and a half weeks, so i'm super pumped about that.

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    1. Hi The Cape on the Corner.
      Thanks for reading. I'm working on posting the Bari, Italy post tonight. I've heard about those Alaskan Cruises, they are very long! I'm sure you will get some beautiful pictures. My husband is wanting to go on one so I'll have to read about it. I followed you on GFC and also popped by your blog and left you a comment. I'm very lucky to get to travel as much as I do in Europe!

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  6. Hi Brittany,

    Beautiful, breathtaking photos of a unique city, full of unbelievable colour and culture! I live on the island of Crete, in Greece and I see many similarities between these two southern European cities. Thanks for sharing!

    Poppy

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    1. Poppy,
      Thanks. Very nice, how did you get to live in Greece? I live in Germany currently because my husband is military, but how did you get to live in Greece? We also went to Greece on our cruise, I'll be updating in the next few days. Followed you on on GFC and Bloglovin.

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  7. You got sensational photos of one of my favorite places on earth! Glad you had such a wonderful time!

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    1. Thank you Jacqueline! I checked out your blog too. I love all the vintage ceramic pitchers you found. I'm still trying to find so at fleas and antique markets, they are so pretty. Love the hunt!

      -Brittany Ruth

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  8. What a great tour of Venice. Your pictures are beautiful! I enjoyed your post very much because we are going there in September.

    Glad you had a great time. Look forward to more of your trip.

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    1. Bonnie,
      Thank you. You will enjoy Venice. It's one of those places you have to see, but I definitely think two days was enough. We didn't get to go to the islands though (Murano and Burano?) I would definitely do those if we had more time. That is where all the Venetian glass is made! Thanks for following along with my trip. I'll have another trip series coming up in July, hope you'll follow along!

      -Brittany Ruth

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  9. Oh Brittany, what fun!!! Thanks so much for taking us on this tour...truly amazing! Love your red shades...too cute! A pleasure having you share at AMAZE ME MONDAY, thanks so much!!!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  10. Thanks so much for sharing. I will be going next month on a very similar cruise!

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    Replies
    1. Awesome, are you going to any place I haven't mentioned?

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  11. WOW....so scenic and romantic! You took gorgeous photos. Wow...wish I could go! What a great start to your trip. Cute red shades :)

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  12. I am glad you had a colorful vacation, full of great time! Congrats! Wonderful photo reportage!

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I love to hear from readers! Questions and comments welcome. I try to respond to everyone (I respond back to your comments on the comments page so check back for a response). Thanks for reading!

-Brittany Ruth