My younger sister and I both love to travel and decided that when we both happened to have the summer off a few years ago, (my first year working for a school and her junior year of college) we should take full advantage. With the help of Fodors and a cousin who had lived in Florence for a few years, we planned a trip to Italy and hit the airport the day school let out!

We flew into Venice, and from there our itinerary took us to Florence, Rome, and finally the Amalfi Coast with day trips to Tuscany, Pisa, Pompeii and Naples thrown in for good measure.

Venice is certainly a city unlike any other I’ve ever visited. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, especially in the evening, sometimes a little smelly, but undeniably magical being surrounded by water and traveling everywhere by boat. We took a vaporetto (water bus) from the airport to our hotel. This was not only the cheapest transportation option, but it made several stops along the line, just like a regular bus, so we were able to do a little sight seeing as soon as we arrived.

Our hotel was located just outside of the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), Venice’s main public square.

The downside to this location was that it was quite crowded with tourists at all times, but the plus was that it was a very easy landmark, and as we soon found out, navigating the twisty alleyways and streets of Venice is not for the faint of heart!

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