"Venice Thursday and Friday July 13 & 14 " a Venice Travel Page by fdrich29

After a rather long drive from Rome we finally arrived in Venice around 9:30 pm. We went straight over the bridge to Venice, intentionally passing by Mestre where our hotel was located to see if we could do anything. A short while later we drove back to Mestre and found our hotel fairly easily. We had hoped to spend part of today in Venice but it was not to be, and decided to take the earliest shuttle we could in the morning over to Venice and stay all day. Our hotel was actually rather stunning, it was cut in half by a marina and had the best shower of any we would encounter while in Italy. Little would I know that my 34th birthday would be one of the best days of my life.

We signed up for the hotel's shuttle service to Venice, deciding to take the latest possible bus back to the hotel. Minutes after arriving to Venice a man with an official looking badge approached me saying he was from the Italian board of tourism, or something to that effect. I was immediately leary, but heard the man out. He said he'd give us a free boat taxi ride to Murano island if we'd go and watch them make glass, it was a way of promoting the glass making industry in Murano. I decided to trust the man and we went to Murano, about a half hour from Venice. Long story short we were glad we did. We enjoyed watching them make glass, then went upstairs to the gallery (no pressure from the salesman, who was quite knowledgable and a truly decent human being). We ended up purchasing an Italian love knot and vase for my wife's mother (which was thrown in for free after buying the large love knot, we were told by the man in Venice that bartering is welcome here). They offered free engraving, which we took advantage of, and had the items shipped home. The salesman suggested we take a trip to Burano, known for it's lace and fishing industry. I had already hoped to see this island so we took the next boat over and stayed long enough for some pictures, lunch and to buy some lace (to put under our new love knot of course).

Here we are, on our honeymoon, on my birthday in Venice. No way on earth I'm escaping shelling out 100 euro to take a 45 minute gondola ride through Venice. Sarcasim aside, it was quite nice, and very romantic, definitely a highlight for my bride and probably a dream of hers ever since she was a little girl. Of course her dreams never involved her 310 pound husband's frame keeping the gondola in a constant state of listing to the right, but her smile told me she was happy none the less. Following the ride (and from the ride actually) we saw a house where Marco Polo once lived, Bridge of Sighs, Doge's Palace, St. Marco's Basilica and Harry's Bar (from the outside, SIGH). When we decided we needed to head back to make the shuttle we were shocked to learn we were a good hour away from where we needed to be, so we took a water bus back, enjoyed the ride and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel. It was truly one of the best days of my life and I will never forget it. Tomorrow we're off to Lake Como.