Mediterranean - Caribbean Mega Trip 2008

The family’s excitement is bubbling as we touched down on Venice Marco Polo airport with the faint view of Venice and its water canals in the distance and it did not disappoint! There is only 1 Venezia with its unique canal structures and gondolas. By far the most beautiful cities we’ve ever visited (aside from San Francisco ). See if the rest of the trip can beat this!

We landed on Piazza San Marco via water bus (vaporetto). What a beautiful place. We went there a second time the next day when we were sober.

Hotel we stayed is Starhotels Splendid - http://www.starhotels.com/hotel/splendid_venice_venezia/starhotels_splendid_venice.php?idalb=18

Very nice and centrally located. We splurged on the hotel in Venice, the most expensive in this trip but worth it.

Memorable Moments

Definitely dragging 3 pieces of luggages + 2 kids and a stroller through the alleys of a maze at 8 in the evening for 2 hours to find our hotel! The streets have no name and when asked for directions, the most popular answer is “Over There”! Yep, our GPS does not work here. Not that Venice’s positives are not in our minds, it’s just that this one will leave a mark for a long time. We didn't think it's worth it to spend 90 Euro to get a water taxi right to the hotel. But at that time with hungry and tired kids, we had to think twice.

Poor kids. They are very tired from the long flights and walking. Tyo is very strong, though. He only sleeps for 4 hours yet still has the energy of a young monkey. But they pass out in less than 2 minutes.

Challenge(s)

See above.

Top Spot

Oh, the view from atop the Rialto bridge overlooking the Grand Canal … It’s breathtaking. Night or day – just as romantic.