Venice is a remarkably unique city… similar to Amsterdam with its canals and ancient architecture, but uniquely cozy and romantic. Saint Mark’s Square and Church are the heart of this intriguing city… with its multitude of cafés, shops, and of course hundreds of pigeons. The Church is the tallest structure on the Venice skyline. The current tower is the 20th century re-creation of the original built in the 1700s, which collapsed without warning in 1902.

In all my travels, St Mark’s Basilica (Church) is my favorite, next to Notre Dame. If you can imagine…there are more than 85,000 square feet of mosaic…or enough mosaic to cover over 1.5 American football fields! The mosaics were done over a time period of 8 centuries, mostly in gold, and the result is astonishing. And, there are more than 500 decorated columns to admire. This extraordinarily beautiful church was built in the 9th century to house the remains of St. Mark the Evangelist, one of the four Apostles, from Alexandria, Egypt. The Church is full of ancient relics from all over the world, but none are as breathtaking as the Pala d’Oro, a Byzantine altar screen of gold, which is composed of literally hundreds of gems…including 1,300 pearls, 300 emeralds, 300 sapphires, 400 garnets, 100 amethysts, plus rubies and topazes. Makes the Crown jewels in London look small.

One afternoon, Charissa wanted to visit the famous Café Florian in the plaza… established in 1720 and known as the oldest coffee house in continuous operation in the entire world. As we enjoyed our cappuccinos and ice cream sundaes, we could hear the orchestra playing in the Square and the two bronze Moors on top of the 15th Century Torrie dell’Orologio which struck the hour. A true Venetian experience.

And, of course, a gondola ride thru the canals on our last day was inevitable. Unfortunately, Travis was not feeling well that day and missed out.

We took a boat ride one day over to explore Murano… famous for its dazzling glass products. I had purchased a chandelier from the island 25 years ago at a very reasonable price…in fact, a cheap price…so I was astonished at the high prices they are asking now days for their glass creations.

As our Italian vacation came to an end, I found myself feeling very blessed to have shared my love for my favorite European country with my children. I look forward to returning one day in the future to share many of my favorite spots with my grandkids.

Time to return to Mexican food and Texas heat… and unfortunately get my knee fixed so it doesn’t interfere with my future travels.