What a wonderful, unique, enchanting city.
After spending a day and a half in bed, I decided to buck up, put my big girl pants on and get back out there! Plus I feel better 🙂 You know how when you first get a cold, you feel pretty crappy? And then you start to feel better but you sound terrible? That’s where I am. I started taking zicam as soon as my symptoms started and I think possibly it might have helped. I am losing my voice a little bit. Bugs me but Kevin doesn’t seem to mind, hmm ….
So Italy …..
Italy has 20 regions, kind of like our states. Each region is autonomous although there are five regions that have higher autonomy than the others. What that means is that there are five regions in Italy that kind of get to be a little more independent from the rest of the country. This is primarily to preserve their unique cultural and language differences. And most of them get to keep more of their local taxes (like 60%) whereas Sardinia gets to keep 100%. Nice!
Venice
Venice is in the Veneto region and is NOT one of the 5 autonomous, which surprises me because Venice is like an island and is so unique. Did you know that Venice is built on over 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea? How is it possible that it is still standing? It was built centuries ago. It has no roads, just canals.
The history behind this is that back in the 5th century, there were barbarian conquerors that caused people to leave their homes. They found a lagoon that was safe from the barbarians, as they would not cross the waters. As time went on, more people ran to the lagoon area until they finally decided to build a city. Venice!! or Venezia!
We took a tour of Venice today. Our tour guide was Nikko. He was born and raised in Venice so he had more information than he could possibly share in 2 hours. Also, he thought he could keep us more entertained with riddles and asking us to guess the answers to his questions about Venice, so I have to admit, he kind of lost me. I was more interested in looking around and seeing all there was to see. That and keeping track of Kevin as he took pictures kept me very busy.
Below – Keeping an eye on Kev, making sure he doesn’t get lost. It became a game of hide and seek 🙂
So there was one part of the tour I did find extremely interesting and that was the Jewish area. In 1516, there was an area established where the government of the Venetian Republic forced the Jewish people to live. It was called the Venetian Ghetto. It had large gates that they would close and lock every night, not allowing the Jewish people out until the next morning. To this day, there are still Jewish people living there although it has become an expensive place to live 🙂 Our guide, Nikko took us to one of the doors that had plaques in the ground dedicated to the residents that lived there. One was for a man born in 1939, went to Auschwitz, came back to Italy and lived there with his family until he died just last year.
On a lighter note, Kev and I had a wonderful day in Venice. It is a city full of charm like no other.
We had breakfast before our tour in a cafe that only served pastries (we are yet to find anywhere that makes/serves eggs). We tried Burger King but they don’t open till 10 AM. Probably because they don’t serve breakfast. We both ordered hot cocoa and it was so thick it was like drinking pudding. I actually ate mine with a spoon.
After the tour we walked around and did some shopping and had lunch at a charming pizza restaurant down a narrow road. Lunch was absolutely delicious and the ambiance!
Today was our last day in Italy 🙁 One thing I won’t miss are the stairs………everywhere! But I will miss the charm and the beauty!
Arrivederci Italia! Grazie per l’ottimo soggiorno!
Denise, I just love your blog!! You write so well and you absolutely so funny, and your words coming to life. aLove your pictures too, it’s like I’m traveling with you two!!❤️
SO happy to hear you’re feeling better! My heart dropped when I read your previous post 🙁. Stay well! Zinc almost always works for me! I recommend it often.
Ahhhh, Venice!! I am loving all the history you provide-very interesting snippets about the areas. So glad you are feeling better too. Beautiful pictures! Love hearing about your experiences 🩷
Hello Denise and Kevin, I am getting the most fun out of reading this blog! It brings back incredible memories, and also gives me more insight into the history of Italy. Can’t ever take enough pictures Kevin I tend to do the same thing lol Denise I’m sorry to hear you were sick. I haven’t read your post before this one so I didn’t know. But you’re back on your feet yahoo.
Nice pics! Esp the Burger King 🙃
Good luck on your continued egg hunt.
The hunt continues!
Your geography lesson was fascinating. I never realized that Venice was a group of islands connected by canals. Thank you for that.
Glad to have you along Margie!
Wow, such an incredible trip. I hope you keep feeling better.
I am feeling better every day, thanks! Our trip is quite an adventure!