Venice

Venice is a special place. It's old, it's dramatic, and it's so beautiful it almost hurts to be there.
The food ranges from ordinary to sublime. Venetian food is wonderful and varied, from Sarde in saor (sardines in vinegar and onion), rice and peas (risi e bisi), real Venetian pasta (Bigoli), to so many things I didn't even have time to try. The reason I say it can be ordinary is that there are many tourist trap restaurants in Venice. To discover something authentic you need to delve deep into the Venice maze of streets and canals.
I really enjoyed the pizza in Venice, though I know it's not part of original Venetian cuisine. A dinner of pizza and Prosecco was probably my favourite meal in Venice. I have mentioned I love pizza, haven't I?
I went for a touristy and expensive Bellini at Harry's Bar (where the Bellini was created), and it was lovely, although I am still trying to block the cost of this drink from my memory.
Venetian food shopping is fabulous too, as is all Venetian shopping. Winding streets and alleys create a paradise for shoppers, I only wished I had been equipped with more room to buy and pack all these lovely goodies.
I loved Venice and I can't wait to return. My hotel was a small and quaint one, and was both friendly and personal. I had warm croissants of a morning, brought in by a local bakery, with lashings of butter and Nutella. Over croissants, one of the owners of the hotel told us that his business was in danger of closing, as were many other hotels in Venice. We were there during one of many floods, and it is those floods and extreme weather conditions, as well as the current economic situation, that might close some of those business after all.
It makes me sad to see this happen, and it can only be changed if people continue to go and see Venice, and fall in love with it. Regardless of the weather, it isn't hard to love Venice. I would urge anyone to see Venice, even just once. If I could love it even with it's flooded streets, and raised walkways, I'm sure others could too.