Venice, the City of Water!

And here we are in lovely Venice!  Our last stop in Italy.  Our trip went by SO fast.  It was a lovely final day in Italia.

Gorgeous, isn't it?

Shamae, Annie and I living the dream!

When we first got there, we wound our way down side streets as far away from the swarms of tourists as possible. The phrase "elegant decay" perfectly describes the city and was used frequently by all of us.  

 My wonderful traveling companions looking fabulous! 

Random graffiti was all over the city.  This was one we saw often.

This picture was taken at the gelateria (the first of three we stopped at).  Look how giant that jar of nutella is!  I want it...

Three lovely ladies eating their gelato on the steps of a church in Venice.

We found this excellent pizzeria at the heart of the city.  It was SO good!  The jazz music playing in the background was great too.  

During winter semester, Shamae and I took an Italian Literature class at BYU.  The statue behind us is Carlo Goldoni, a native of Venice and one of the authors we read. 

Rialto Bridge, a famous shopping area.  

I LOVED this pen and stationary store!  It was wonderful.  I really wanted to get a glass pen or letter seal.  Eventually I decided on a mini pen with two bottles of ink.  I can't wait to try it out.

The Gondoliers and I!

No wonder so many artists come here to paint.  Everything is just so picturesque.  

Piazza San Marco.  Bella, no?

Originally, I didn't want to go inside St. Mark's Basilica, but I'm so glad I did.  It was completed almost one thousand years ago and I've never seen anything like it.  It was amazing!  The entire ceiling was covered with gold murals like the one you see below. 

This is only a faction of an example of the tile work on the floor.  Look how detailed it is!  I can't imagine how long that must have took.  The colors of the marble are exquisite as well.   

This is the exterior showing another example of the variety of marble they imported.  I'm really curious where they got it all from, 'cause clearly there are no quarries in Venice.  

We saw at least three brides while we were there.  If you were getting married, you'd want your wedding pictures taken in Venice, too!  

The Bridge of Sighs as named by Byron.  

After a wonderful day of relaxing exploration in Venice, we hopped on a train and met the Jacobs, from my home ward, who are serving a mission at Aviano Air Force Base in northern Italy.  We spend the evening eating and chatting with them before retiring to our suite on Base.  It was so fun seeing them.

The next morning, Brother Jacobs took us to the airport where we boarded our flight back to England.   It was sad leaving Italy, but the trip was more than what I hoped for and I know I'll be back soon.

Ciao, Italia!  Ci vediamo presto!