Venice, Italy 🇮🇹

Jeff had a work convention with Rain in Venice so Molly and I tagged along and extended it for several extra days. We flew out April 30, 2024 and didn't fly back home until May 9th.  We had so much fun!  I was so excited for Molly to see one of my favorite countries!  And she got to celebrate her 17th birthday there!

Venice is made up of 118 little islands that are all connected by rivers, canals, and bridges.

We stayed on Lido in Hotel Excelsior.  We would take the water taxi over to San Marco most days to play.

Our hotel was situated right on the beach and had a pool! This is the first time I've ever been to a hotel in Europe that had a pool.

Saint Mark's Basilica

We went to a Masquerade party one night and had fun dressing up.

I loved taking Molly on gondola rides and letting her see the buildings in the canals. 

The Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge

We went to see the Doge's Palace.  "Doge" means Prince. It was beautiful!  It sits right in the bustling St Marks Square.  Once you get inside, the chaos and noise of St Marks disappears and there is a calm beauty to it.

There were several rooms filled with armory.

Every stairwell, every room, every corner was beautifully adorned with gold trim and huge, incredible paintings.  It was incredible.

Then we toured through the old prison before leaving the Doge's Palace.

 PADOVA (PADAU)

We took the water taxi down the Grand Canal to the train station to catch a train to take us to Padova or as it's called outside of Italy, Padau.

It's a bigger city with lots of shopping and dining.  We went to see the Cappella degli Scrovegni Basicilla first.  Then did some shopping before stopping to dine for dinner just outside the Palazzo della Raglone.  I loved seeing a new city!