Being dropped in the middle of a beautiful maze

After breakfast we decided to forget the map, and just get lost in the city. Our plan was to keep walking, and entering alleyways/corridors on a whim (Which way? You wanna go to the right? Alright let's go!) and see where it takes us.

Wandering the streets of Venice is like being dropped in the middle of a beautiful maze. It doesn't matter which way you go, you'll always end up somewhere interesting. A pigeon sitting on the head of a statue of a priest. More about the pigeons in the later post.
We are family. It's a gorgeous day in Venice.
"Hold on. Stand right there. I wanna take your picture." I suppose I sounded like a broken record, but it was so picturesque and I wanted to have tons of photos to remember our trip in Venice.
"Okay. Now let me take your picture," said Uwe.

I told Uwe that if I ever had a mid-life crisis he'd find me in Venice. I would love to live here and just get lost in the city for 3 months. It feels like a dream to be here. (Now that I'm posting about our vacation, after being back in LA for 5 months - I have to tell ya - I still dream of Venice.)My little one climbing the steps of one of the many bridges in Venice.

It was also perfect timing to travel through Europe with a baby - at 16 months old. First off since she's under 2 years of age, we didn't have to pay for a separate seat on the flight. Plus she's still happy to be in her stroller. Also, it's great fun for her to explore new places and see new things everyday. (A lot of fun for Uwe and I to watch Astrid run around a new place and experience it from a toddler's perspective as well!)

It may become a family tradition/motto - "Take your baby to Europe when he/she is 16 months old - go and we'll pay for it!" I would love to be able to do that for Astrid one day - Pay for her to take her family and 16 month old baby to Europe just like we did when she was a baby.Running to Papa's arms. In LA we call this an alleyway. In Venice it's called a street. It's an adventure wandering down these tiny streets to see where they go to. Some are quite dark and have many turns. Then there are others like this one that get sunlight and are straight. Walking toward Mama (aka the designated photographer on this trip).A close up of Astrid walking down the street in Venice. She looks so sweet in her little orange jumper with the flowers around the collar and green ladybug shoes.That's me. Not exactly sure what I'm standing under, (a little religious shrine I suppose), but it looks old and interesting.Mama and baby. Astrid's chomping on a rice cake. I love this photo of us. I look relaxed and happy, and Astrid looks sweet and adorable as always.