10 reasons to visit Venice

I know what you are thinking. I don’t need any reasons, Jessica, because its Venice.

But you do. You still do. Because there is so much more to see in Venice than you can take in over a weekend. Here’s a short list of things we found ourselves doing last week that did not come from a guidebook.

1. Feel small wandering amongst countless churches.

2. Pretend you are a Doge for a day.
OK, the guidebooks did recommend this one, but we were suprised how many people we knew who hadn’t gone inside.

3. Be stunned by the detail in everything.
The street lamps on the Palazzo S. Marco are pink.

4. Notice how laundry looks like art in Italy.

5. Find the world’s craziest bookstore, where there are boats instead of bookshelves.

6. Pause and listen to street music.
He was playing one of my favorite Spanish guitar songs:

7. Take awkward pictures of strangers. This city is made for it.

8.Go off the beaten path.
We stayed in Cannaregio, which had an entirely different feel to the rest of Venice and killer restaurants.

9. Imagine conversations between gondoliers.
Honestly, what does their office gossip look like?

10.Become a pigeon whisperer.
This child was beyond happy and never even noticed the crowd that had gathered around him.