The Bentleys, Sessions and MORE Sessions!

The Sunday before the Fourth of July, Taylor and his beautiful fiance, Meg, came to Atlanta after they spent the weekend in Birmingham for a wedding along with Cole and Ashley. That night Cole and Ashley made reservations at Eclipse di Luna off Miami Circle where we enjoyed meeting Meg and catching up with everyone since they live in Chicago. We can't wait for their wedding in Denver next June.

{John, Leslie, Richard, Me, Taylor, Meg, Ashley, and Cole}

The City of Bridges

Day 8 - Our last day in Venice, Italy 

After a day with clouds and rain, we awoke to the most beautiful day where the water in the canals were a bright green and a light breeze all day.

{Eating breakfast in our hotel that had a retractable roof}

{The bridge right outside our hotel & my favorite picture of the entire trip- maybe a potential Christmas card!?!?}

After breakfast we we took a 30 minute gondola ride through the city for 80 euros. All four of us got in the same gondola, but Richard was the most nervous as you have to sit a certain way so the gondoliers can make tight turns around buildings, but at times it feels like it might tip. However, the experience gives you a great view of the city as hundreds of tourists take your picture. 

{A water view of the restaurant we ate at the night before}

{So much personality in this man}

 After our gondola ride, we walked throughout town exploring the beautiful city. That day we ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking water. 

{The main clock in Piazza San Marco}

{I guess their version of rush hour traffic}

{The flowers were just so vibrant}

{Richard's beer and one of my favorite meals- a lighter taste of pasta}

That night Leslie had our last tour booked, which was a night stroll through Venice from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Our tour guide was so interesting as we learned so much about her city. 

Several things we learned were: 

*There are 120 islands

*San Marco Square is named after Mark the Evangelist whose remains were brought back to Venice from Egypt. Mark was buried in northern Egypt until 828 when two Venetian merchants stole his remains and took them back to Venice. A basilica was built to house the relics. On the outside of the basilica there is a mosaic showing how the sailors covered the relics with a layer of pork. Since Muslims are not allowed to touch pork, this action was done to prevent them from noticing the relics and being removed.  

*The merchants brought back the remains to Venice because they wanted to beat Rome with power. 

*Each canal is about 6 feet deep and boarded with wooden boards that mix with water and create a stone like structure.

{The picture to start our tour- Out of no where came the strongest wind and rain I had ever experienced- hence our hair is looking a little rough}

"The Bridge of Sighs"

{This bridge connects to the prison, and it's called the Bridge of Sighs because it's the last view of Venice that the prisoners got before being locked in a cell forever.} 

{The only hospital in Venice}

 Once our tour ended by the Rialto Bridge, we ate at the same restaurant again, which made them happy and us too. They served us four complementary Peach Bellinis, wonderful pasta dishes for dinner (I finished my pasta tour with spaghetti and meatballs), and then they gave us four complementary shots of limoncello.  However, we couldn’t let the night end there, we had a few more drinks at the hotel. This Italian trip was an amazing experience as we ate, drank, and explored our way through Italy. Thank you so much for making this a dream come true, Leslie!

{Our paintings from the trip}

{Rome}

{Florence}

{San Gimignano}

{Venice}

Traveling to Venice

Day 7 - Venice, Italy

 This morning we packed our bags and headed to the train station for a quick 2 hour train ride to Venice.  I always dreamed of going to Venice and was super excited to explore this floating city that is connected by charming bridges at every corner. Right when we got off the train we walked out of the station and were greeted by the grand canal and water taxis.  Leslie wanted to continue making our trip fabulous so we got a private taxi and headed to our hotel, Hotel Splendid.

{The view from the train station when you exit}

{Me getting into the water taxi with ALL of our luggage}

{View from the back of our water taxi}

{ A very cloudy & rainy first day but still beautiful}

{Our charming hotel}

{The beautiful bridge outside our hotel-it is also known as the "Wedding Bridge." We even saw a newly wed couple getting pictures on our first day there}

{Our first lunch in Venice}

After lunch we explored the Grand Canal- sadly, the Rialto Bridge was under construction, but the view was still incredible.  We then went to Piazza San Marco where we got caught in a torrential downpour for an hour or two. 

{The Grand Canal from the steps of the Rialto Bridge}

{ A picture I took from Google that shows you what the Rialto Bridge looks like}

{The calm side of the grand canal}

{Piazza San Marco}

{Started to get a little heavier- at least we had one umbrella}

{Us taking cover under some buildings along with everyone else in Venice}

After standing outside in the rain for a few hours and being a little cold, we decided to head back to our hotel where we enjoyed a few drinks with a wonderful view of gondolas from our hotel bar as we waited for the rain to end that afternoon and head to dinner.

{funny little shirt I saw in a store window}

{Headed to dinner}

{Leslie and Richard exploring the city and taking in the views}

{Across the water you can see a burgundy awning, which was where we ate dinner right on the 

Grand Canal}

That night we wanted to be a little touristy and eat right on the waterway of the Grand Canal. We literally ate in the water as the tide came in very quickly. Thankfully we kept our feet up on the legs of the table, but the waiters actually wear rain boots to get from table to table. It was a very neat experience. 

{You can see the water come in- eye level with the boats}