Photos from my Italy Trip

The last stop to conclude the trip is the beautiful water city of Venice.  This car-free city is made up of a hundred islands connected together by four hundred bridges and two thousand alleys.  Part of the fun here was to let yourself get lost in the maze-like winding and turning streets.  You see charming parts of the city that is off the beaten path seen by the typical tourist.  But very quickly, you will emerge out of small quiet alleys and back into the busy crowded streets packed with tourists and lined by touristy sidewalk shops.

The Santa Maria Formosa church below was designed in the late 1400s.  Something unusual about this church is that it has two principal facades.  One overlooking the plaza that it faces, the other facing the canal on the other side.

The Doges’ Palace (Palazzo Ducale) seen below is a half-acre of property that was the official residence of Venetian rulers.  It is located at the grand St. Marks Square and next to the Venetian Lagoon at the end of the Grand Canal.  Crossing the covered Bridge of Sighs from this lavish palace is the miserable prison and underground torture chambers.  Walking through those dark stone cells and seeing the carvings made by prisoners from the olden days evoke an eerie feeling.

As a foodie, one of my favorite experiences in Venice is seeing the bustling produce and fish market next to the Ca’ d’Oro (House of Gold) neighborhood.  Each merchant had a colorful and beautiful display of fresh vegetables and fruits.

I wish we had fresh artichokes and artichoke hearts so readily available and inexpensive in the United States.  They are so good for your liver.  Almost every merchant I walked by had fresh artichokes to sell.  With competition, comes quality and good prices.

In Venice, we were lucky to have been recommended to a fresh seafood restaurant visited by locals that was tucked away from the busy touristy areas.  There, we met the owner of the restaurant who turned out to be the president of the fish market association in Venice.  No wonder the fish served at his restaurant was so fresh tasting! To see what we ate at his restaurant, be sure to come back to my blog again later this week to see Part 2 of my Italy photos.  There will be many mouth-watering food photos awaiting for your eyes to feast on.  =)

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