Day 1 – Venice and Murano Italy

“Leaving day” is finally here. First stop, Venice! We are all using the same packs from two summers ago, which should make them easier for the kids since they have grown, but the bags haven’t! Skip this next part if you aren’t interested in the details of what we packed, but loads of people have asked…

Each backpack is packed with 4-5 outfits, a swimsuit, one pair of long pants, one fleece or long-sleeved layer, one rain jacket, a wool hat, toiletries (toothbrush and paste for the twins, a few more things for Jen and me, and all of Sephora for Addison). We all have sneakers, and either sandals or a pair of Crocs for downtime, as well as Loop earplugs, our phones, and headphones. Three of us have portable chargers and two Kindles to share. We each have several gallon ziplock bags, but I wish we packed more – they are so handy, and we each have tiny compact shopping bags that stuff into tiny sacks for groceries or “stuff” as needed. 

Jen has her nice camera, a pocket Sudoku book, all the passports (US and Austrian for the kids and me), the travel clothesline, and a bag of plugs and cords. The twins decided a pair of goggles each was worth the weight, and Kate added a small stuffed animal, a handmade miniature paper dragon, and a sketch pad and pencils. Jen and I have small, quick-dry towels for spontaneous dips in alpine lakes. I have a light-weight scarf which has been used as a blanket twice, an emergency kit, paper copies of our passports, our tickets, and all of our bookings. I also have three pairs of sunglasses, just because. 

Veronica picked us up at our house and drove us to the airport in the minivan. After hugs and a quick airport photo, we were off through security, where we stood in line by surprise with one of Jen’s cousins, Brooke, who was traveling with her husband, Eddie, to London. 

We were so excited that we arrived at the airport three hours early, as recommended, but our gate wasn’t even posted on the boards yet. The flight on British Airways was delightfully boring and overnight. We arrived at Heathrow around 6:30 London time, which was roughly 1:30 am for us. We transferred to another flight and flew to Venice. I was so exhausted I remember nothing – not take off or landing. The kids and I received NO stamp when we passed through customs because we used our EU passports. 

Once through customs, I have to be honest, I had a moment, standing in baggage claims, looking around, when Jen asked, “ok, how do we get to the Airbnb? How do we get to the water buses?”  

I thought, “What the heck are we doing? How did I not look up public transport… we are just dragging these kids around, and I am in charge?!! Guten Himmel!”

We walked out to the curb, back inside, over to a kiosk, up to a random taxi company, and finally around the wall to find the ticketing office for a bus ticket from the airport to Venice and a 24-hour city pass. Super easy. Then everything kicked in. Jen led us to the bus, and even knew the number and color we needed. We got off at the water taxi (vaporetto) central hub, and Jen led us again to the correct letter dock, and told us the multiple options for the number boat we needed. Once off the boat, I walked us straight to our Airbnb, used the pass code to retrieve our key, and we were in! Looking back, it is almost funny that I panicked – we are good at this, and I love traveling with Jen!

Venice – wow! I stood on the deck of the water bus, warm sun on my face, wind in my hair, and smiled. We feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this and share this experience with our children. 

We grabbed a quick bite of pasta and sweet treats at Osteria Ai 40 Ladroni before taking a water bus to Murano. Murano is its own island, featuring glassblowing workshops and numerous stores selling all the delightful treasures created on the island. Jen wanted to go and check out the tile floors in the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato a Murano. (Jen will write this part and explain what we saw. It was lovely and dates back to the Byzantine time.) 

Jen here – true story – the church itself was first built in the 7th century and then rebuilt twice, most recently in the 10th century. The mosaic tile floor was created around 1140 C.E. There are also the relics of St. Donatus, and supposedly the bones of the dragon he slayed in Greece. Now back to Kendra…

We meandered the streets, popping into several stores to browse the glasses, chandeliers, figurines, beads, and other sculptures. I was especially taken by the vases, glassware, and some of the sculptures, which looked like brilliant reeds or underwater sea grass. 

And then, I met my wall of energy. I was toasted toast. Jen sent me a screenshot of where to go and what to do, and I took Evan on two water buses back to the apartment. We easily navigated the stops, I jumped into the shower, and collapsed into bed. 

While I was out cold, Jen remained out with Kate and Addison, found some groceries at a Spar, and made her way back. Jen then took Evan and Addison out for more pasta and sweet treats while I continued sleeping. (Y’all, I couldn’t help it.) Eventually, everyone was home, washed, and tucked into bed. Jen edited photos and mapped our trains and city passes for tomorrow’s trip to Vienna.