Venice + Florence

My parents are visiting now and when they arrived last Wednesday, we took a mini-trip to Venice and Florence. Here are a few pictures if you'd like to see:

We started in Venice and successfully navigated our way from the airport all the way in to the hotel which was a huge feat. I love to stay at Locanda la Corte in Venice because it's located in a quiet, less touristy area - but it's kind of tricky to find if you don't follow their specific instructions! They have a great courtyard where it's fun to eat breakfast in the spring and summer - it was too cold in January but it was still beautiful.

After a good night's sleep for the weary travelers, we went and saw the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in the morning. We took the vaporetto everywhere on this trip which is great because it gives you a completely different view of Venice.

Whenever I'm in Venice, all I eat is spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti with clams) - and this trip didn't disappoint. We tried two new restaurants - Osteria da Alberto and Osteria al Mascaron - and both spaghettis were to die for.

In the afternoon, we hopped on the train and headed to Florence. I love wandering around Florence because you're always stumbling on a beautiful square or church or fountain. Here's the Duomo, peeking out:

We had a busy morning in Florence, visiting the Uffizi Gallery, popping in to the Cathedral, walking over the Ponte Vecchio and wandering around Mercato Centrale, one of my favorite places of all time.

Then we hopped back on the train and headed up to Cortina for the weekend, just in time to see Ryan's game on Saturday night (a win!). Does anyone have any Venice or Florence tips? Restaurants, hotels, things to see? We're always popping down to Venice for an afternoon or night and we'd love to hear any suggestions!