The one and only Grand Canal
St. Mark's square. A place where people try to touch pigeons they would otherwise find disgusting. Unfortunately Basilica San Marco was covered in scaffolding at the time we were there, so I'm including a picture from my fist visit below.
Souvenir shops abound
Street parking can be hard to find
The bridge is the famous Ponte di Rialto, which was so packed when we arrived that we could barely walk. If you don't like crowds or tourist traps don't linger here.
On the larger, commercial canals you can find beautiful and varying architecture
Gorgeous!Now for my favorite parts of Venice - heading into the narrower canals
The facades on the back streets show wear, but combined with the lovingly tended flower boxes and laundry hung out to dry it creates a charming scene of life in Venice.
Sunset over a canal.Have any of you been to Venice? What was your favorite aspect?
Here's that list again of all my posts from our travels that I've posted -
Spain
•Introduction to my European backpacking trip and a list of places we visited
• Galicia - Baiona and Isle de Cies
• Galicia - the coast, some charming vineyards, and Pontevedra
• Santiago de Compostela and gorgeous hidden beaches
• Gorgeous mountain lakes of Picos de Europa
• Stunning mountains - Picos de Europa
• Bilbao and San Sebastian
• Beautiful Barcelona
• The amazing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona
• Art Nouveau dream house by Gaudi in Barcelona
Italy
• Not to miss - the gorgeous rocky coast of Italy's Cinque Terre
• More from my summer traveling Europe - amazing Rome
• From my summer in Europe - amazing Pompeii
• Turquoise ocean and vineyards on cliffs - the amazingly stunning Amalfi coast
• My Summer in Europe: Pictures from lovely Florence, Italy
• Enchanting Siena
Thanks as always to my boyfriend Chris, who took these amazing photos.