Honeymoon: Venice edition

February 9, 2023

Ok, guys, we’re back from our honeymoon, and (almost) recovered from the bronchitis we came home with. I’d love to share some photos with you from our trip. Since we were gone a full two weeks and visited so many truly amazing places, I’ll share the photos over the course of a few days. Our trip started in Venice, which is like nowhere else on earth. I thought I knew what to expect — some canals, no cars, lots of tourists — but it’s so much more than that. Imagine sidewalks so narrow you brush your shoulders against walls that are built 5 stories high, little alleyways where you have no idea what you’ll find at the end, an entire city on the brink of falling into the sea. Everyone said Venice would be romantic. Well, I don’t know about that. It’s crowded and chaotic. With the narrow sidewalks and high walls it’s hard to see anything most of the time. Going on a gondola ride is terribly awkward, especially for a couple who is naturally terribly awkward. But at the same time Venice is beautiful. It has a shabby beauty. A sort of tragic beauty. And when we’d find ourselves walking alone at night through narrow winding pathways never quite sure where we were going, we could practically see ancient Venetian ghosts watching us. And that was ok. We learned to hold hands, cuddle up, enjoy the sea air and the quiet peace that comes when the cruise ships leave, and just wander… [ Narrow sidewalks and narrow canals, below ] [ The Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge ] We took a boat tour to three of the smaller islands near Venice — Murano, Burano and Torcello — and we loved it. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Venice if you have time. It was really nice to get away from the crowds in Venice and walk along the sleepy canal in Torcello, population 33. We saw a glass-blowing demonstration in Murano. And Burano… Oh, Burano, it’s amazing. An old fishing community, every house is painted a different bright color to represent a different family, like an absolutely amazing fairyland — or what it looks like inside my head. Surrounded by all of the hot pink and turquoise and yellow homes, I’d happily move right in. [ Burano, my happy place ]