Juliana's World

We left Hotel Europa & Regina early on the day that we were going to Milan. I couldn’t resist to smile for the camera while waiting for the water taxi to come and pick us up.

These pics were taken right by the Grand Canal entrance of the hotel:

Inside the water taxi on our way to the train station

Last few shots of Venice’s Grand Canal

The 60 euros, 15 minutes water taxi ride was smooth and comfortable. We were at the Stazione di Santa Lucia in no time. As expected, it was already busy though it was only 9:00 a.m. I couldn’t be more excited as we were headed to Milan, Italy’s most dynamic city. Besides, I know Milan was our last stop, I knew that New York was just a few sleeps away.

Here are pictures that I took while walking around the busy streets of Venice. Yes, it may always be busy but there is no vehicular traffic to contend with. The streets are just filled with people; locals and tourists alike. You know what I did not see?  A school! I don’t know why, but I think we pretty much walked around and tried to discover hidden alleys and bridges.

Piazza San Marco is steaming with people during the day, but as soon as it gets dark, it is more serene and peaceful.

I saw a lot of the above. Yes, there were undies too. And this is a house right by the canal.

I didn’t see any mall in Venice, but I saw tons of shops. You find shops in virtually every corner, no matter how narrow the streets are. It’s dizzying, as different stores with different merchandise can be on one strip. No matter how much we attempted to go back to where we came from, we always end up trudging a different direction. It must be that our sense of direction is really bad. We always got lost, but somehow, ended always in Piazza San Marco, because if we didn’t end up there, we won’t be able to find our way back to Hotel Europa & Regina. Whenever we sensed we were getting lost, we always asked for the direction heading towards Piazza San Marco.

As you can see in the photos, the buildings where the shops are housed are typical Venetian structures. Some are old, and some are newer. I’m not sure, but the upper floors maybe for residential use except for the Louis Vuitton and Chanel stores. I spent almost an hour on the Chanel shop, but wound up empty handed as the item I wanted was not available in the color I want. I swear, I would have broken my shopping vow to my husband. He must have been really lucky on this trip, because even if I had the details of the merchandise with me and brought it along with me to Milan, the merchandise was also unavailable there.

Torcello is aptly known as the Mother of Venice, it being the third island of the lagoon. It offers a lot of charm and it is positively antediluvian. Strolling across a  grassy meadow as well as traversing an ancient stone bridge is a common thing.

Cattedrale di Torcello is known for its Byzantine mosaics. It stands in a grassy meadow beside an 11th century campanile.

The lagoon island of Burano is famous as the center of lace making, a craft that reached it’s pinnacle in the 18th century. We had an afternoon in this island, and we found the island as a little charming fishing village sans the grandeur that Venice has. The homes of the islanders come in varied colors as you can see in the pictures. In fact, my husband and I posed in front of the house we each picked.

Museo del Melretto is in the center of the fishing village

The place is very charming and it’s relaxing to see a slow paced kind of lifestyle. I can’t help but wonder, if we had the chance to stay here for a week if my husband would forget all about what’s going on at Wall Street and me to stop fussing over my PC’s external  hard drive.

Did any of the products they sell captivated my heart? Yes, of course. They sell beautifully crafted table cloths as well as napkins, they look so delicate for my taste. So, as you guess, I came out from the stores empty handed.

We didn’t waste time. As soon as we got our room at Hotel Europa & Regina, we strolled and wandered around and took pictures, of course. The square was filled with locals and tourists alike. I was really in awe at the beauty of the structures, their design and architecture is really extraordinary.

Me, posing with Basilica di San Marco and  Campanile di San Marco in the background

Palazzo Ducale ( Ducal Palace)

This man is just hungry that’s why he’s acting up LOL. Besides, he can’t get over the home theater seating he saw online the night before, and he wanted to head back to the hotel ASAP to check out and compare prices. Imagine that!