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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

We're in Venice and I can't believe my eyes

After leaving the train station, and walking down the steps, lo and behold just a few steps away there's water!

To get to our hotel/bed and breakfast (a former palace), we took a water taxi. We parked Astrid's stroller towards the rear of the boat, sat down next to her to reassure her that everything was okay, and just drank in the scenery. We're finally in Venice!

I can't believe my eyes. Everything looks unreal, like a Hollywood movie set. Astrid's not too sure if she likes it yet. This was her first time on a boat in the water.Riding under a tunnel.The backdrop is like a scene out of "The Merchant of Venice." Uwe standing up in the water taxi, taking in the scenery.This is the effect that Venice has on people. You just have to smile. The city is surrounded by water (and sinking) and it's old and beautiful and something out of a story book. It's unbelievable. Look at these old buildings. The water continues to rise, and the city continues to flood and sink lower into the water. An old door. City inhabitants can open a door and literally step into their boats. (Our water taxi pulled right up to our hotel, which had a small porch/deck area over the water, and from the boat we walked right into our hotel.)Lots and lots of bridges.I know, such a touristy thing to take a photo of a woman hanging the laundry, but you can see that people really do live here. It's not a fake Disney town. It's an authentic city with real locals.Enjoying the breeze and taking it all in.I took Astrid out of her stroller and held her up so she could see better and feel the wind.Look at her wind blown hair. She loved the feel of the wind.There are two gondolas in this canal. (We had planned to go on a romantic gondola ride, but with the baby we decided against it. It's very expensive and spending that time chasing a toddler around just didn't seem romantic or worth the money. But no worries - we will be back and will get a chance to go for a ride then.)

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