Mini-Vacation in Venice

In February of 97, we spent a few days in Venice with Vicki's parents. Venice is one of our all-time favorite cities, and we have been there several times in the past. It's almost exactly 600 kilometers (373 miles) from where we live, so it is easy to get to by car.

We arrived one week after the carnival had ended, and so there were relatively few tourists. The weather was glorious, and the three days went by all too quickly.

In this space, we present a few souvenir photos for those family members who could not join us.

One of the things David and Eric like best about Venice is feeding the pigeons in Saint Mark's square. There are literally thousands of them, and depending on how hungry they are, their behavior can range from docile to downright aggressive as illustrated by the photos below:

Venice takes a bit of getting used to because where one would expect roadways, there are waterways. One can get through almost the entire city on foot by using a multitude of bridges that span countless canals, and because there are no traffic lights, pedestrians are truly free to stop and go as they please.

We did take advantage of this and explored many of the nooks and crannies of the old town. The picture on the right was taken during one of those excursions.

When all is said and done, Venice is a truly unique city. There are those who love it, and those who can take it or leave it. They all agree on one thing, though: Venice is a city everyone should see and experience at least once. It is that different and, in our opinion, that spectacular.

If you have not had the chance to visit Venice yet, we hope that you will get the opportunity to do so some day.