Off to a good start!

After a very long travel day we made it to Venice! After getting settled in at the hotel we walked out to the Grand Canal. It was a beautiful day and the boat traffic is so much fun to watch. George Clooney got married over this weekend and closed down the Grand Canal for his procession a couple of times. The city is absolutely buzzing with chatter about George's grand affair. We haven't seen any celebs but we did spot the papparazzi near the hotel he's staying at.

Off we go! Very excited for our adventure!

We made it to Venice!

The Grand Canal - love the beautiful wooden boats

More Grand Canal

Busy, busy with all the boat traffic

Papparazzi waiting for George!

What I SHOULD have taken a picture of is all of the tourists crowded around taking pictures of this display. He is the talk of the town!

It didn't take Damon long to find PIZZA!

He is happy!

It's funny how fast you get used to being lost here - the streets are narrow between tall buildings so you can't see very far, and many suddenly dead end. We probably got lot at least a half a dozen times in as many hours but came to expect it and just laughed about it. We had a nice dinner on a small canal last night; Laura got cuttlefish in ink sauce with polenta - very Venetian from what we understand. Our hotel is lovely with a beautiful courtyard and our room has a canal view. Gondolas go by frequently and it's fun to watch them! Ok, we're off to tour the Doge's Palace and see the sights at St. Mark's Square! Ciao!

Tall buildings = no landmarks = hard to navigate!

Typical side canal scene

The pretty courtyard at our small hotel

This sweetie can usually be found dozing in the hotel's courtyard

Hotel room with a canal view

The view from our hotel room!

Dinner on the canal - ink sauce, yum!