We arrived in Venice after a long period of intense travel. After a fantastic time in Zambia and Botswana (more about those destinations in a future blog post), and ten wonderful but exhausting days in Palestine/Israel, we made our way to Italy. We had a deeply meaningful time in the beautiful city of Assisi, including Sunday mass at the Basilica of St. Francis, and three wonderful but also fast-paced days in Florence with our new friend, Alessandro Vannini, a Florentine artist.

Then, we journeyed to Venice. We parked our car, took the water taxi into the city, and made our way to our apartment. And, we found a wonderfully quiet canal and square that was our home for three days of rest.

It is estimated that thirty million tourists travel to Venice each year. Nearly all of them head to Piazza San Marco and the Doge’s Palace, and we also made our way there to join the crowds filling the area. Even in late October and early November, the area was packed with people.

But we also retreated to our apartment in the San Croce neighborhood far away from the crowds, which proved to be the highlight of our time in Venice. We really enjoyed staying in Venice. It was beautiful and interesting in all the ways we expected. But unexpectedly, it proved to be a quiet and peaceful place to rest after an extended period of intensive travel.

My favorite activities were walking around the quiet neighborhoods, especially after dark when street lights kept everything bright, and listening to water lap on the boats in the canal behind our apartment.

If you have a chance to travel to Venice, go. If you like large crowds, you will find plenty of people to join. But, if you are looking for a beautiful and quiet place to be, there are many such spots in Venice.