Venice is really just like all the photos and movies, it’s actually that cool. Even the Venice train terminal opens up onto the main canal. So we got the vaparetto to our hotel, which is basically a bus (with a propeller instead of wheels) on the canal. It happened to be peak hour and felt more like the NYC subway that a boat on a canal in Venice, but it was my first glimpse of Venice and it was a positive one.

We had planned to meet up with Eric Nevin, a friend of ours somewhere in Venice. Little did he know that we had booked the same hotel and so when he found us at reception checking in it was quite a suprise!

When Phil was in Venice ten years ago he hated it. He remembered tons of tourists and high temperatures. Strangely, on this trip neither was a problem. We routinely found quiet, empty streets. The pace of Venice was nice and slow. In the end, we spent three days in Venice. We ate fairly well, kept the sites to a minimum, and for the most part, relaxed.

The obligatory site, the Piazza San Marco, was the most crowded but still much less so than Phil remembered. The worst part was the pigeons—thousands of them. People actually sell packets of bird food for 1 euro for the express purpose of feeding these flying rats. Disgusting.

The Basilica on Piazza San Marco was worth braving the crowds and the pigeons. Unbelievable mosaics, cool tile floors, a nice museum on the upper floor, and great views of the Piazza from the balcony.