Venice, Italy- no.1 (The trip and the food!)

When we moved to this side of the world, we were giddy at the thought of all these possible places we might see.  And then we saw what it cost to see all those wonderful places and took a large step back.  So we decided that as long as we were here, we were going to make the most of it and plan at least one BIG trip during each term we serve.  We dug deep in the savings account, and this crew embarked on a Mediterranean cruise on May 21st.

Our flight left in the middle of the night, India time.  In lieu of sleeping a few hours in the airport, we stayed in the airport hotel (which was surprisingly extremely nice).  Problem is we have four people in our family and the beds are a double-size.  That means these people slept horizontally across the bed.  Despite the cramped quarters, our few hours of sleep were worth it!

Our first flight landed in Moscow around 9 AM, and we may or may not have stopped at Burger King for cheeseburgers before boarding our next flight.  No judgement please!  We are all suffering from a beef deficiency!

Disclaimer:  Those socks Max has on were a free gift from the airline.  We don't typically dress him in vibrant blue socks that touch his knees!  Despite my opinion, he thought they were "fansome."  That's his own special word that I've come to think means 'fancy and handsome!')

Our cruise left port in Venice, Italy.  I was a little disappointed at first, because I knew we'd miss Venice.  Luckily, Jason did some checking and found a pretty reasonable hotel room so that we could go one day early.  And boy, am I glad we did.  I have to say... Venice might remain one of my favorite places for a LONG time!  

After arriving at the airport, we grabbed a little map so we could get our bearings.



Along with the help of our tour guide (also known as Max) we took a water taxi to our hotel.  The waterways are complete with lanes to make traveling safe and efficient.  The trip in the taxi was beautiful.  There were too many beautiful things to look at!

Once we arrived, we found our hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed out to look around.  Most likely our first few hours were spent in a state of shock.  The beauty, organization, and cleanliness of it all was just breathtaking for  some folks who've spent the last two years in the complete opposite!







With all that sightseeing, it wasn't long until we found ourselves hungry, and what better way to fill a stomach in Italy than with GELATO!  This is the real stuff... not that pretend gelato they try to sell around the world!

We spent as much time looking at food as we did architectural things.  These sandwiches could be found everywhere.  I lost count of how many prosciutto and provolone paninis we ate on our trip!

The only cheese we get in India is processed sliced cheese and frozen mozzarella cheese.  So the sight of this was almost too much for us to bear.



Jason found his love language spoken loud and clear in windows like this all throughout Venice.



On our second day there, we found ourselves just stopping and ordering slices of prosciutto and parmesan just for the heck of it!  We called it a snack, but I think we were just trying to take in as much of the goodness as our stomachs would hold!

We also found the local fruit/vegetable market.  As people who live in India, we are not strangers to a vegetable market packed with incredible quantities of fresh fruits and veggies.  But these were the most beautiful fruits and vegetables I've ever seen.  You don't even have to edit these pictures for color.  They are so vivid and bright all on their own!



The boys begged for pears, strawberries, and lots of other fruit treats all throughout our trip!  We were happy to oblige.



We also stumbled upon the fish market.  If you overlook the obvious smell of a fish market, Jason and I both agreed this was about the freshest seafood we had ever seen.  We loved seeing all the different options.  And the octopus was a hit with the boys!







We did manage to SIT and eat on our first evening, but we found that the food we grabbed on the go was a hundred times better and cheaper!



On our second day, we stopped and grabbed some pizza.  I'm a lover of pizza even in America, but this stuff was the REAL THING!  Pizza Hut and Papa John's can close their doors as far as I'm concerned!  We found a small alleyway to eat and had a quick lunch.





I guess one of the simplest things that caught us off guard in Venice was the public water fountains with CLEAN drinking water.  For two years, we've only had filtered water.  We have to threaten our kids not to drink bath water or anything that they aren't sure has been properly purified.  In fact, when Jason showed them the first water fountain, they stood back and would have nothing to do with it!





It didn't take them long to get the hang of it, and before I knew it, we were dragging them away from the fountains!  I think civilized people use them to fill their bottles up, but our approach was much more fun!







Although we would have been content just eating and drinking (water, of course) in Venice, there was so much more to our trip!  More on that next time! Ciao!