Day 11 - 1st morning in Venice

Good morning Venice.

We're staying at Palazzo Abadessa, a former Palace in Venice dating back to the late 1500's.

The website's description is: "A splendid historical residence situated in one of the most characteristic areas of Venice: treat yourselves to a magical and unforgettable holiday surrounded by period furniture, precious silks and high quality comforts."

This is the palace's entryway/atrium. If you look to the end where the double doors are surrounded by stained glass windows, just outside is the canal, and small dock where our water taxi pulled up to drop us off yesterday and unload our luggage.

Uwe painstakingly researched and booked accommodations for us, for this entire vacation, that included a separate room for Astrid so that we could still enjoy ourselves while she was sleeping (in the evening and during her afternoon naps). We were told we had a suite with 2 rooms, but when we got here we found that something must have gotten lost in the translation, because we had a big suite and sitting area, but just one room.

When we called the concierge, we were told they did have a smaller adjoining room, but it would be an extra $200 a night. We thought about it and then decided we'd just deal with having the pack 'n play and Astrid sleeping with us in our room. We got a call back shortly afterwards that they would open up the hallway which had another room and bath adjoining for Astrid, at no extra charge. They apologized for the miscommunication, as they thought we had an infant, not a toddler, and they understood why we would prefer a separate room for her. It was neat to see that there are all these adjoining doors (with old fashioned skeleton rings) and such that can be opened to connect rooms, since it was a residence at one point in history.

Here's a close up of the door, and that's Astrid in the forefront starting up the stairs. It was hard to take good photos inside the palace because of the lighting. It didn't feel dark because of the natural light that came in through the windows and doors, but it came out dark in photos. Here I tried taking a photo with flash, which tends to wipe out a lot of the smaller details, but you an see Astrid on marble stairs off to the side of the entryway. A spiral staircase, that the palace touts as being one of a kind in Venice, leading to the upstairs floor.The gallery room upstairs.More of the long gallery room.Our breakfast buffet. The lady who owns the palace also lives here, so it has a bed and breakfast type feel to it, with nice touches like the breakfast spread. We had a large selection of the freshest, juiciest fruit. One guest who had been traveling around Europe for a few weeks remarked, "Isn't this the freshest fruit you've had in weeks?!" My thoughts exactly! And they had fresh eggs, cheeses, breads and milk for the baby. A big plus! The owner also doted on Astrid during breakfast.

The stairs to the side of the buffet table lead up to our suite. It's a very narrow, steep staircase. I carried Astrid up and down it, while Uwe carried the stroller (and our luggage when we arrived). A view of the outdoor patio area/garden.It was such a beautiful day we decided to have breakfast outdoors in the patio area which is surrounded by a well kept garden. As you can tell from the photo, I'm enjoying my delicious breakfast, and first morning in Venice.Astrid going for a stroll in the garden, as Uwe and I keep an eye on her to make sure she's careful at the stairs. Yep, she's being careful. Astrid's done exploring the garden, and we're getting ready for another day of wandering around Venice and enjoying the city and not having to be anywhere or do anything in particular, but just enjoy ourselves.