Venice

I couldn't let a trip to Italy go by without taking the kids to see Venice. It's not my favorite place but it's so unique I think it's worth the trip. It was only a 2 hour train ride. When we arrived I realized I had no idea where our hotel was or how to get there. I was hoping we would have time to drop our bags off before our tour. It didn't happen. The train station is on one side of Venice, our hotel was on the other side. After some lunch (and wine) I was able to relax and figure out where we were going and how to get there. We took a water bus to St. Mark's Square to meet our tour guide. We went on a Merchant of Venice tour on the Grand Canal. The kids were merchants trying to

buy/trade with other merchants to build a palace on the canal. It was fun. Our tour guide was a little overwhelmed with the kids, which is pretty typical.

After the tour we got back on the water bus and went to the hotel. The hotel was in a quiet part of Venice. It was very much like a neighborhood, not the crowded touristy area. Reilly was worn out and just wanted to lay down and watch tv. Penelope and I decided to go out on our own. It was fun to walk around and spend time alone with her.

The next day we walked the 2 miles from the hotel back to the train station. We were able to see more of St. Mark's Square and some of the shops. The kids found this amazing candy store. In the window they had giant marshmallow candies that looked like strawberries and bananas.