Venice- Rain or Shine

I stepped off the train in Venezia and saw one of the most people places I have ever been to. It was unreal-- docks that went right up to houses and people getting into water taxis just to get to their hotels. Yes, this place exists, and now I have first hand experiences with it.
The first night we spent just walking around. We only had two hours before the shuttle took us to our hostle, so we just took pictures and enjoyed the night time in this city. The next morning we got up, took the shuttle into the city again and walked around all day. I was just amazed at the little walkways, the bridges, the alleys, the hanging baskets, the people and their little doors, but most of all I was taken with the buildings. There is so much history, so much life in all of them. The facade would be cracked and falling off, but the vine would still be growing up- not just growing, but thriving.
The gondoliers are just for tourists, going for 90 Euro a ride... we obviously didn't do it.
Dad, look at these hanging baskets... why don't yours look like this? hehe... The food here was of course wonderful and we all had great experiences with that-- fresh mozzerella and beautiful bread (as seen in the pictures below), it doesn't get much better than that. A few girls had an asapragus and basil soup that was outstanding.
One of the best things that happened in Venice was that it rained. That might sound silly and pretty cliche (Oh, rain is so pretty! blahblah), but in Venice, it was awesome. The stone streets were shiny from the rain and the canals were flooding everywhere. We were soaked from about 6pm to about midnight. We walked all around Venice and dodged busy streets by darting into small alleys. It was so fun. One of my roommates said rain seemed different in Italy with a big smile on her face-- after two hours of being completely wet, she looked at me and took her words back.
I would like to go back to Venice someday with a smaller group of people and visit a lot more of the museums and such. Two days in a city like that is just not enough. Maybe I will get to go there again while I am here. Or maybe you guys can come visit me and we will go! That will give me an excuse. But rain or shine, Venice is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It has so much character.
The hardest thing about being here, like I have said to a lot of you, is not being able to share these things with you. I miss being around you, all our conversation and hearing about your lives. Please know that I pray for you daily and think about you all the time.
Here are a few more pictures for you all:

Look at the size of those IVY!One of the many beautiful cathedrals in Venice.

Much love to all of you! God bless!