Venice has my heart!

On Friday it was the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. What a beautiful feast to do a pilgrimage on. We hiked 18 miles through the Austrian alps on a trail that ran alongside the river. Words and pictures cannot quite express the beauty of that hike. 

However, it was not just the external beauty that made the 18 miles worth it, but the internal prayer for all people carrying difficult crosses in life. We actually carried a cross with us as we hiked and took turns holding it up. I loved walking for the intentions of all my family and friends, and I carried in my heart special intentions for all those I love.

So after the hike, exhausted as we were, a small group of us decided to go to Venice for the remainder of the weekend. After a couple bus rides we picked up our tiny little European rental car and drove the 4 hours to Venice. Roads are CRAZY here. No one follows the speed limit. The signs are just suggestions. However, with my rosary hanging over our rear view mirror we made it safely to our hostel. Now, our hostel is another story.

We pulled off the high way and followed Miss Tomtom's voice to a dark alley… There, we could hear pounding loud music. We got out walked through a large gate, and there it was… Camp Jolly. Yes, that's the name of the hostel. There were cabins you could rent, but we went cheap and got tents instead! Don't worry, they locked! So the place had a nice bar, a pool and was a close bus ride to Venice. We crashed from exhaustion and woke up early to go to the island.

Venice was gorgeous. I am in love with that place! Perhaps it's because my Italian blood ran fast through my veins while there, or maybe I just really liked the gelato.  In any case, the winding streets, streets of water, smell of pizza and the music of accordions made my heart happy.

We wandered. A lot. We just walked in and out of shops, down random alleys, over a thousand bridges and stumbled upon some beautiful churches. We found one with the uncorrupted body of St. Lucy. We went into St. Mark's Basilica. It is stunning! I of course forgot to bring a scarf with me to wrap around my waist and because I was wearing shorts I had to pay a euro to buy a cover up. But it was worth it!

We then climbed Campanile.. or rather took the elevator up! The view was unbelievable. My mouth dropped open when I stepped off the elevator. Venice is so cramped, but it's surrounded by beautiful water and I loved seeing the city sprawled out.

After that we grabbed a water taxi, because everything in Venice is a water version (even the garbage trucks *boats*), to the island of Lido for some beach action. We hung out for a bit in the water, which is TEN TIMES more salty that in the states. And we built sandcastles and found some great sea shells.

Back on Venice we went to Mass at St. Mark's in Italian. It was great because I could almost follow along, thanks to my Spanish! Many times during the day I could kind of understand the Italian people!

We then what we had all been thinking about all day, a gondola ride!! We floated through the quiet canal and saw the peacefulness of Venice at night. For as crowded and busy it is during the day, it goes almost dead at night. It was such a peaceful ride and our Gondolier pointed out a few cool things like the Bridge of Sighs (connecting the Palace to the prison) and Vivaldi's house.

After our classic Italian experience, we headed to a restaurant that fit our budget (unfortunately the ones on St. Mark's were a liiiitle pricey). We grabbed some more gelato and made our way back to the bus.

It was a day well spent, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait to spend more time in Italy!