Venetian dream...

So...our little Italian getaway! I've selected just a few of the zillions of photos we took - which was hard to do, since there's a postcard-worthy picture just waiting to be taken around every corner! First of all, Lido: the long, thin island just across the lagoon from Venice. This is where we stayed, and if I'm ever lucky enough to go back, I would stay there again; it's beautiful, it's got beaches, (it's less expensive than Venice), and it's just a 10-minute boat ride away. Here's a shot of our hotel, taken from the water:

Lido has canals like Venice but feels more relaxed & like a sea-side resort - one side looks to the lagoon (seen here), and the other side is beaches on the Adriatic (we even swam one afternoon, the water was about 78 degrees and felt refreshingly perfect)

..the island is filled with these charming old Venetian-style houses..

The birds are not shy, and this one kept coming back to my breakfast plate for more crumbs!

The top of an old monument dome, which was lit up beautifully at night..

The other thing I loved about Lido was the beautiful view we had across the lagoon. Here's a zoom shot taken from our hotel room - I think this is Giudecca, another little island between Lido & Venice..

Approaching Venice by vaporetto - Piazza San Marco in all its splendor..

The Grand Canal..

Me, standing on the Rialto Bridge..(and sweating like a pig - it was so hot & humid!)

More canal scenes..

We also made it to Murano, and got to see some glass-blowing..

This guy whipped up a glass horse figurine in literally 3 minutes..!

Gondoliers in the lagoon..

Beautiful taxi boats..

Gondoliers by night...

And finally, sunset as seen from our hotel. I'm usually happy to come home after a trip, but leaving this beautiful place was very bittersweet..! I was even able to remember a few words of Italian, after all these years (although I could barely understand a word they said back to me :)