Venice, Italy: Day I

Gavin and I decided to go to Venice for our honeymoon. Neither one of us had ever visited Italy before, and Venice seemed as good a place to start as any. We both instantly fell in love with the beautiful city, its history, its food. Here are a few of the pictures I took in those four days. More to come soon! :-)

The Rialto Bridge is the oldest bridge in Venice.

Everything in Venice is so old! It obviously used to be an incredibly wealthy city (its full name back then was la Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneto). At one point they controlled parts of Italy, Croatia, Greece, Albania, Cyprus, Montenegro, Slovenia, Turkey, Russia and the Ukraine. After centuries of warfare, diseases, new trading routes and new colonial superpowers, Venice gradually weakened. Eventually it was conquered by France, then Austria and finally, by Italy in the 1860s.

Antica Drogheria Mascari, the oldest spice shop in Venice. It's located in the old spice street Calle degli Spezieri, a pretty busy street although most people don't know of its history. At the zenith of its trading glory, the smell of spices in Venice must have been intense.

Palazzo Ducale, or the Doge's Palace, a lovely and interesting museum. If you're interested in Venetian history, this is the place to go.

Caffè Florian, one of the most beautiful cafès on Earth. Venice was actually one of the first coffee-drinking cities in Europe, beginning in the 17th century. Caffè Florian was founded a century later. Goethe, Casanova, Lord Byron and Rousseau have all drunk coffee here, so we felt like we had to as well. Cappuccinos are priced at a ridiculous €12, and their scrumptious tiramisu costs a whopping €20. But the cafe is beautiful. Another great cafe in St. Mark's Square is the Gran Caffè Quadri, where the cappuccino also cost €12. Wagner, Dumas and Proust had coffee here.

Watching the beautiful golden hues of sunset.