Vanishing in Venice

It felt like we had hardly unpacked our bags in London and already it was time to pack them again for our first weekend away - or 'city break' as they like to call them here. Han and Jamie had a return trip to Venice planned - and we were lucky enough to be invited to tag along!

Venice was a great spot for us to start our adventures into Europe. As newbie tourists - it was compact, safe and easy to explore. Having said this - it did feel as thought we were constantly wandering through a maze and on more than one occassion we found ourselves completely lost... but that is part of the fun in Venice (or so we were told!).

Venice looked just like it does in the pictures..... all over. Canals, cute cobblestone streets, old houses and tall leaning bell towers. It was great wandering around - especially given there were no cars (or even bikes) to avoid - just huge tour groups during the day.

Top of the Basilica - as seen from the 99m 10th century Campanile (bell tower)

In terms of sightseeing - our highlight in Venice was probably a tour of the 'secret passages' in the Doges' Palace. The Doge was kind of like a mayor in Venice - and had a secret service. The secret service and city archives operated in a series of secret passages and rooms within the Doge's Palace. Our tour took us through these and we even got to see the room where Cassablanca was imprissoned - and from which he later escaped. The Basilica was also amazing - it seems like every surface was coated in amazing mosaic detail.

But the real highlight for us (as always seems to be the case) was enjoying great food and wine and soaking up the atmosphere. We had some great culinary experiences - my favourite was a black pasta dish - Michelle's a little bruschetta bar we stumbled upon. Drinkwise - we found a very old bar where the girls enjoyed the local drink (a Bellini) while Crumpy and I kept it simple with a nice cold beer!

Big thanks to Han and Jamie for helping us get our travel off to a prompt start!

Final photo included for no other reason than I love the 'taxi' boats they have in Venice - if I ever end up with far too much money and have a house on a lake or harbour.... owning one of these boats (whose engines make them sound even cooler than they look) will be a priority!