Day 3 started off cloudy and chilly and required a wardrobe change moments before leaving our hotel. Later in the day I'd be dying in long dark pants as the weather decided to be brilliantly sunny and 95 shortly after our arrival in Venice. Regardless, I wouldn't have wanted to spend my fourth of July anywhere else or with anyone else. I fell in love with Venezia quite easily and by day 3, I was completely in love with all my new friends, too. We all had too much fun together. Naturally, as we departed for Venice we had to do that Jack and Rose bullshit you do when you're on a boat. But in this picture, we have a Jack and Rose sandwich, with baby Alexa in the middle.
The boat ride to Venice was stunning- the water was beautiful and the buildings that came into view as we approached the city had me wide-eyed and giddy. I got some great photos on the way in. See for yourself :] Click on each photo for a larger view.
The boat ride to Venice was stunning- the water was beautiful and the buildings that came into view as we approached the city had me wide-eyed and giddy. I got some great photos on the way in. See for yourself :] Click on each photo for a larger view.
Venice was gorgeous. I loved every square inch of it. After arriving in Venice we saw a glass blowing demonstration, which was out of this world impressive. The skill and precision it takes to do something like that is mind blowing. As an artist myself, I have so much admiration for anyone who masters such a beautiful skill. In the picture on the right, the man is making a glass horse. It was positively wild. After our demonstration, we were brought into the Venetian glass shop. Here I would bat my lashes furiously as I listened to the handsomest man, Paulo, tell us all about Venetian glass and the products they make and sell in the shop. After fantasizing about my marriage to Paulo, I semi-unknowingly spent lots of money on beautiful Venetian glass jewelry. I miss his face.
After our experience at the glass blowing demonstration, Paulo included, I needed a serious glass of water. These little water fountains popped up everywhere all over Italy. Thank God for them. I never drank so much water in my life as I did when I was in Italy. There was never a moment when I wasn't thirsty. With the heat and all the walking we did, it was easy to become dehydrated. I was always pleased to find one of these fountains and avoid having to spend money on water bottles.
After our guided tour of Venice, Miguel took us to a secret restaurant, which I cannot reveal the name of because it's so secret. It's not a touristy restaurant and so, it should be kept that way. All the gondoliers go there for meals. I couldn't complain about sharing the dining room with several muscular, handsome men in striped shirts who spoke amongst themselves in a hot language I couldn't understand for the life of me. It was wonderful.
For lunch I ordered spaghetti alla bolognese. As some of you may know, bolognese is a meat sauce. The bolognese I had was nothing like the bolognese you would get here in an "Italian" restaurant. I had the real deal in Venezia and as you can see, I wasn't exactly miserable shoveling it into my mouth.
For lunch I ordered spaghetti alla bolognese. As some of you may know, bolognese is a meat sauce. The bolognese I had was nothing like the bolognese you would get here in an "Italian" restaurant. I had the real deal in Venezia and as you can see, I wasn't exactly miserable shoveling it into my mouth.
After lunch, we were off on our own gondola ride with our very own beautiful gondolier, Stefano. Since Miguel has the hookups, he worked his magic and we were able to arrange a more "Hollywoodized" version of a gondola ride with romantic opera singers and prosecco wine. It truly was what I like to call, romantical. The 35 minute ride was breathtaking as we took in the sights along the canals of Venezia and listened to some beautiful, live opera singing. The prosecco was delicious too, of course. I could have stayed in that gondola the rest of the afternoon if they let me. Everything about the ride filled my heart with peaceful warm fuzzies.
Later that night back in Lido Di Jesolo, I enjoyed a yummy dinner in the wonderful company of Miguel, Kevin, and my Italia roommate, Gabby. We ordered a quattro formaggi (four cheese) pizza and a prosciutto pizza. We inhaled both and easily. After pizza it was time for some unbelievable limoncello shots. These limoncello shots would be the first of many to be had on our trip. They would also be the strongest in the bunch- leaving me lit like a Christmas tree very early on in the evening.
Our last night in Lido Di Jesolo was as fun as the first- filled with hours of dancing, singing, laughing, and pretty electric drinks. Our friend Kevin is a sexy Latin dancing machine and is basically a star after his debut on America's Got Talent with the Miami All Stars. You can imagine how much fun it was to dance with him night after night. I don't know that any of us ladies will ever meet another straight man with moves like Mr. Kevin Cabrera's ever again. This world needs more men like him. It's a sheer tragedy. ¡Te extraño boo!
The following morning we tossed back some croissants, swiped more than our fair share of Nutella, and peaced out to our next stop: beautiful Firenze.
The following morning we tossed back some croissants, swiped more than our fair share of Nutella, and peaced out to our next stop: beautiful Firenze.