Venice is incredible.  Nothing moves fast there because everything moves by boat.  The cabs are boats.  The "buses" are boats.  It's a watery, romantic place that's full of Old World charm.  A place with no real streets, just alley after alley of shops, hotels and apartments.   As you stand around looking at buildings that are hundreds of years old, it's hard to wrap your brain around the age of everything and how little some things have changed for this unique city. 

We arrived in a storm and some late spring rains that flooded St. Mark's Square our first night there, forcing some people (not us) to wade through water to get to their hotels.  By morning, the flooding was gone, but it was cloudy for most of the day.  By late afternoon, as we walked around the small island of Murano, marveling at their long tradition of glass blowing, the sun popped out, giving us a break from the clouds.  The pace at Murano is slow and traditional, with the people who live there seemingly living in a world all their own.  We took a little bit of the glass with us and left a small piece of our hearts there. 

St. Mark's Basilica, the gondola ride, Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs charmed us with their quaint antiquity.