Sunny, Sassy and Saint Patrick

We woke up those morning to beautiful sunshine and sunny skies! We enjoyed another delicious breakfast and hit the ground running. Our first stop was the Accademia, a massive collection of Renaissance art. It was fascinating and very informational. Then we headed over to St. Mark's Square. This turned to hold a giant mass of humanity and we saw our first touristy part of Venice. We toured the inside of the basilica (beautiful) and stopped on the second floor balcony for a look over the square. While this part of the city was a must see, the real feel of Venice seems to be away from this spot...we are grateful to not be staying too close to the craziness :)

After St. Mark's, we strolled along the Grand Canal while munching on yet another slice of pizza. Today was funghi (mushroom) for me and carciofo (artichoke) for Steve. I resisted the temptation many times to buy knockoff designer bags on the street...the main deterrent being it is illegal to do so! We are realizing that part of the fun in visiting Venice is getting lost. It is, after all, an island! You can only get so far before reaching a dead end and finding another route. This is how we spent the rest of the afternoon, finally making our way back to our side of town.

Venice takes on a whole new attitude at night. Tonight was even more exciting as it is both St. Patrick's Day and 150 anniversario dell'Unità d'Italia (the celebration of Italy's unification.) Party central :) We had dinner at a local osteria---mushroom ravioli and gnocchi with a four cheese sauce. Shortly after, scoops of gelato. As if we had anymore room to indulge, we found an Irish pub to celebrate the holiday. We found ourselves in the middle of a Venetian neighborhood, drinking with Italians, Brits, Scots and of course, some Irish who were kind enough to have brought their instruments for some Celtic jigs. Apparently, everyone today really can be Irish!

Éirinn go Brách and Buonanotte