Venice...city of romance

I have always loved the city of Venice. Getting lost on the maze of alleys, the plentiful brick, and stucco walls adorned with flower boxes. The canals, and the gondolas, all make it unique from any other town we have visited.
The weather was perfect. The sun was shining, fluffy white clouds were in the bluest of skies. We cruised in around eight am, and  stood on the deck watching the infamous St. Mark's square from the perfect vantage point. The Swiss alps were present in the distance, and it seemed as if this would be a perfect ending for our cruise.
After docking, we made our way off the ship to a shuttle boat that landed us not far from St. Marks. We took our time going over bridges, admiring the different artists that had painting for sale, looking in windows of shops that had Murano glass for sale, and admiring the different canals and bridges. St. Mark's square was more crowded than I remembered it being, and only when we got about halfway across did I understand why. Standing water was forcing people to follow the same trail across. Once we had cleared the square, we enjoyed the wandering until we stopped at a restaurant for a lunch break.
After lunch, no destination in mind, we meandered in and out of shops, taking hundreds of photos, each alley more perfect than the one before. The men tired quickly, and left us to return to the ship. Unfazed, Susie and I continued walking and ending up at dead ends, and eventually in a very quiet residential neighborhood. After several hours, we worked our way back to St. Mark's and caught the shuttle back to the ship.
We are spending the night in Venice tonight, and catching a train in the morning for Tuscany. More on our travels, as time allows. For now, here are just a few shots from the first part of Venice.

The bridge of sighs.

T

 Dodges Palace, so pretty with all the intricate trim.

The sky was like a giant watercolor.

This standing water had completely disappeared by the time we came back through here in the afternoon. Venice has had an unusually large amount of rain lately. Sadly, we got to experience that first hand today. We are not strangers to rain, being from Oregon, but the standing water was hard to avoid. I found myself just laughing as we tried dodging puddles unsuccessfully.