As we are roaming the streets of Venice, and thinking fondly of a past time, I am so grateful to be sharing this day with the same special person that I shared it with 30 years ago! 😊❤️

Thirty years ago Bernard and I came to Venice with our wonderful Italian friends, Gio & Teresa. In their Volkswagen Westfalia van, we camped just outside Venice. We took a boat and came to Saint Mark’s Square. Thirty years later… we wish you guys were here with us again today to share this moment. 😊❤️

If you look back in our blog to a post published on December 1st, 2018, Venice was nowhere on the itinerary for this year’s trip. But when my hubby proposed it to me while we were staying in Poreč, I was over the moon!

Going to Venice from Poreč is the easiest thing. A Catamaran crosses over the Adriatic Sea, almost every day, and only takes a bit over two hours to get there.

They say there are places you need to see in your lifetime and Venice always makes that list. We were reminded this week of why that is. No wonder so many people fall in love in Venice.❤️😍

Here are a few photos that will hopefully remind us of this amazing place and our time here, 30 years later.

Below, is the imposing Saint Mark’s Basilica. We took these photos from the top of St Mark’s Campanile bell tower. It’s 8 euros to go up but well worth it.  You get amazing views of the city.

Columns of San Marco and San Teodoro are two columns in Piazza San Marco. One is the Column of the Lion and the other the Column of San Teodoro. Both were erected at the square in 1172. Until the 18th Century, the Piazzetta was the place where criminals were executed. This is the reason that still today the local people of Venice consider it bad luck to walk between the two columns, so be careful of that when you come to Venice!😊Saint Mark’s Square is the main square of Venice.

We were so excited to see the gondolas and the skilled gondoliers once again.

The closest we got to a ride on a gondola was through our camera lens and this gondolier below!😊

Compared to 30 years ago, a gondola ride has tripled in price. It is now at the lowest price about $80 euros, which is about $120 CAN.😂I loved watching this loving couple below, being photographed on the bridge.The Venetian masks are everywhere and some are quite beautiful and dramatic.

We love that Venetian architecture which we have seen hints off in both Rovinj and Poreč.

In the photo below you will notice the famous Rialto bridge.

The end to a perfect day!🌺

By the way here is the recipe of the famous Venice Bellini cocktail that we will definitely enjoy while we are camping out this Summer!

“The Bellini, is one of Italy’s most famous cocktails, is made ​​with sparkling white wine (Prosecco) and pureed peaches.

The well-loved drink was invented in Italy in 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, head bartender and owner of perhaps the most famous bar in the world: Harry’s Bar, in Venice.  

The drink became a seasonal specialty at Harry’s Bar, an institution since 1931 and a favourite of Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles. It later became popular in New York, after a French entrepreneur established a means for transporting white peach puree between Venice and New York.

If you can’t make it to Venice for the original, here is a simple recipe that we like:

2/3 cup white peach puree (yellow peaches work if white not available)
1 teaspoon raspberry puree (adds to the pink colour)
1 bottle chilled Prosecco

Add a heaping tablespoon of the pureed mixture to the bottom of a champagne flute.  Slowly pour in the Prosecco. Tip: Although you can substitute other Italian sparkling white wines such as Asti Spumante Brut for the Prosecco, don’t use champagne as its flavour is not a good match for the sweet peach juice.”

Cheers! CIN CIN!