A Guest

It was wonderful to have Anne for our first house guest in Italy!  She arrived just in time to celebrate Valentines Day with us and we went straight from the airport to explore Venice.

After eating a yummy pasta lunch in a restaurant filled mostly with working locals on their lunch break - which usually tells me it will be a delicious, authentic, and not too expensive meal, as it did in fact prove to be - we of course were on the search for a gelato treat.  The gelaterria in our town is closed for renovation and we are going through withdrawal - Vivian was pleased as punch when we finally found her favorite treat.

We meandered our way through a part of Venice which was new to me, which was a nice change from the usual trek from train station to San Marco that we (and most tourists) usually take.

One of Vivian's and Clara's favorite things about visiting Venice is all of the pigeons everywhere in the main square, and chasing after as many as possible.  

Happy Valentines Day 2013 from Venice! 

Procuratie Vecchie along Piazza San Marco 

Though it had snowed in Venice the day before, we were fortunate enough to have blue skies and a really lovely day.  

I have to admit: I have become addicted to Italian coffee.  Walking back from San Marco, I kept smelling delicious espresso and it eventually lured me right in through these doors.  And how can you resist treats like these?  They look almost too good to eat.  Almost.  :)

Though we had just missed the culmination of Carnevale on Fat Tuesday, or Martedi Grasso as it is called in Italian, there are countless mask shops in Venice year round like this one.  

Anne and I had sore arms and shoulders from lifting the stroller (and attached stand-along rider) up and down too many bridges to count.  Venice is really not at all stroller friendly, but it was better than the alternative - carrying two tired children up and down all those stairs and bridges.  

And, as Paul has done so many times before in many other countries, we had to take a picture in front of the "studio dentistico" (left) just to let daddy know we were thinking of him while he was hard at work.  

As the sun was setting on this beautiful day spent in a fascinating city with great company, we took in the view from the bridge one more time before heading home.  More on our adventures with Anne to come!