Venice

This past November, my family and I began our Italian adventure in Venice, the city of water. Made up of 117 small islands formed by canals and linked by bridges, Venice is unlike any other city I’ve ever seen and definitely worth the visit. On our first day, my mother and I got an early morning start at St. Mark’s Basilica. Luckily, there was a free admission and no wait! Then, we walked the cobblestone streets towards the iconic Rialto Bridge. There, we met up with my dad and brother for a gondola ride. Although it is slightly expensive, you can negotiate the price or duration of the ride to decrease the price.

After gliding through the city’s waterways, the four of us sat down for lunch. Then we parted ways again since my mom and I wanted to go to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, but my brother and dad were not big fans of that idea. At the small gallery, we saw a collection of modern art including works by Alexander Calder and Pablo Picasso. Even though, we didn’t do everything together, I still had fun with whomever I was with. Although we’re all vacationing together, not everyone wants to do the same things and that’s okay. If people are tired they should be free to nap in the hotel, but if others are still energized they should be equally free to explore the city. That way, everyone wins and gets the most out of his or her vacation.

On our second day, I finally rode the main form of Venetian transport, the waterbus or vaporetti. My mother and I took the waterbus to visit the San Rocco church. I also went to the next-door Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a guild house with the masterful pictorial decorations of Tintoretto. Later that night, I met up with my brother for a relaxing night in. We brought tiramisu and gelato back to the hotel and caught up with Steve Carrel and the rest of The Office gang. Overall, I’m happy with my Venice trip. I got to see and do everything that I wanted to do, while still making time to relax with my family. The following morning, we took a water taxi to get to the train station for our next stop on our Italian journey, Florence.