More from Venice

Our 17-day trip to Italy is now history - and we are so thankful for photos to help us hold onto the memories, and also, to share with friends and family. The trip was more amazing than we even imagined, and we are full of thanks to God for the incredible privilege of spending time in Italy celebrating our 40th anniversary, and also connecting with our youngest son in the midst of his travels through Europe.

More beauty from the enchanting city of Venice, Italy:

Piazza San Marco, a central spot and one of the city's most celebrated attractions.

The view of Venice from the top of the bell tower (see first photo), looking north. 

And the view south - the long narrow island of Giudecca is where we stayed for our three-night stay.

Canals everywhere - smaller ones, and also the main Grand Canal that cuts through the city in the shape of an "S".

We could not take in enough of the beauty of this city - a French envoy to Venice in 1498 declared the canal to be "the most beautiful street ... that exists in all the world." (from our Italy travel guide).  

We walked the pathways and rode the vaparetto (water buses) through the Grand Canal, captivated by the beauty. There were no cars or other vehicles - the way to travel was on foot, or on water vessels.

There is so much history to this enchanted island - the old buildings and apartments along the canals speak of years ago, and have a beauty that cannot be explained, or even captured adequately by camera.

Sidewalk cafes were everywhere - one of the things I loved most about Italy. Each city that we went to had sidewalk cafes set up in the larger piazzas and along little sidewalks, wherever little tables would fit.

Gary and I ate at this dreamy restaurant our last night there - it was set out on the water, with the island of Giudecca in the distance (to the right of photo).

This photo is taken from the little bridge that we crossed over to get to our apartment (on the island of Giudecca). In the distance you see the main islands of Venice. 

The view from one of our apartment windows. The varying shades of brown, rust,  and deep red were beautiful.

A spacious apartment we found through VRBO, complete with a kitchen. Our first night in Venice we walked to a neighborhood food store and stocked up for our breakfasts and some lunches.

Loved the comfort of the apartment, rented to us for three days by a very gracious Italian hostess, Caterina. 

A second bedroom, the perfect place for Lance to rest up amidst his travels through Europe.

And the beautifully-decorated master bedroom. 

Our three nights and two full days in Venice came to a close too quickly - but it was time to move on to Florence!