At the ground-floor wine bar, take in the view of the Grand Canal while enjoying such cicchetti as salumi and cheese. In the upstairs dining room, choose from a menu that features intriguing dishes, including cocoa fusilli with boar ragù. Campo San Giacometto, San Polo 122 39/041-523-2061. Photo by Sabine Lubenow/Jai Corbis. This appeared in the March/April 2013 issue.

Dominican friars mixed medicines at the original workshop in Florence starting in 1612. The Venice branch is also a traditional apothecary, selling herbal elixirs. Most shoppers, however, come here to buy modern perfumes and gaze at the antique interior. Salizada S. Samuele, San Marco 3149, 39/041-522-0814. Photo courtesy of Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. This appeared in the March/April 2013 issue.

At the end of our European trip, my seven year old son, my mother-in-law, and I spent the last of our days in Venice. We decided to do the most “touristy” of things and rode in a gondola. In the beginning all I wanted to do was hide my face for participating in this oh so typical ritual. After a few moments though, I was lulled by the comfort of the cushions, the hushed swish of the oar, and the beautiful decay that glided past. That was until, the skies opened above and large pellets of rain soon soaked us, thunder boomed, and lightning sizzled as we sat in a boat in a canal…full of water. After hiding under a series of bridges we finally got back to our starting point. Stepping off the boat, I soon discovered that the place had miraculously emptied. Everyone had scattered and disappeared inside dark doorways. After dropping my companions off at our hotel, I continued on, to enthralled by the solitude to let the rain bother me. I spent the rest of the day sloshing through puddles and soaking in the quiet history of the city’s alleyways and saturated colors. I was supremely content to lean on a centuries old crumbling wall, watch the green water edge by in a small canal off the beaten path, soaking wet, alone, in a quiet and deserted Venice.

Vogalonga is a yearly festival that occurs in May and is a 30 Km race through the Grand Canal to the small lagoon island of Burano. The public water bus, the vaporetto, shuts down and you are left to either take the pricy water taxis or walk the island. There is no rush on this day and even a taxi will take twice as long so not to disturb the rowers' momentum. It is well worth taking a taxi to get to wherever you are going simply for the view - modern kayaks and paddle boats propelling themselves on the historic canal against a backdrop of crumbling 15th Century buildings. The festival celebrates the history of the gondolier when Venice used to pit the rowers against each other to determine who was the fastest and most talented rower and who was truly born to be a gondolier (rumoured to have webbed feet no less). There are no winners but participants. This year, 2013, the festival takes place on May 19th.

There's a lot to see in Venice. And a legion of streets to stroll and bridges to cross. So much so that the historic and bountiful Rialto Market is easy to ignore. Seek it out. In the morning its bustling with fishmongers selling their morning catches, yelling out the names in Venetian dialect.

One of the best things about Venice is the marvelous architecture. While I think having waterways as streets and boats as cars is way cool, I really was awed by the buildings and the attention to detail. The arched windows, the attention to detail on a column, the gorgeous wooden shutters, the flowers flowing over the balconies. It is truly a beautiful place. I was there in mid-June which was too busy for me. I prefer fewer crowds. That being said, I would go back and spend a bit more time there to really see more of the buildings, just at a quieter time. I recommend just tucking the map in your bag, grabbing your camera and wandering around wherever you might be staying. You will stumble upon some beautiful churches, shops and a piazza or 2. Enjoy!

I love this picture . It was early morning and I saw this man playing with his dog and he would throw ball to the dog but because of the high tide you could not see where the street ended but the dog did every time!

After wandering the day through Venice I found this restaurant that was right on the great canal. It was long past time to eat when I stumbled upon this restaurant and had to stop. All that was between me and the Grand Canal was a little fence lined with flowers, and to top it off the food was amazing too!

Only every once in a while do you come across a phenomenal waiter. A dedicated and inspired individual who encourages you to *eat* as much as he encourages you to *taste*. Every location in Europe offered spectacular food, but the service highlight was definitely Venice. And that was wholly based on the experience provided by the glorious Giordano of Al Paradiso, a restaurant hidden in one of the many gorgeous streets of Venice. Our service was prompt--we were seated right away. And at a table on a blue carpet *outside* nonetheless. Because of the pure mouthwateringness of everything on the menu, I had no idea where to start. So Giordano took the matter into his own hands with a smile, and brought us out dish after dish of exactly what we (previously unknowingly) wanted. He had the menu memorised perfectly. The highlights were numerous, foodwise--but the best part was Giordano. A wonderful older gentleman, with a bright smile and the spunk to tell us to not add parmesan to our gnocchi--he made our night. He was delicate when he spoke, explained how we should approach eating certain dishes, and allowed us the freedom to explore the Venetian cuisine. After many hours spent absorbing the food, drinks and culture of the restaurant, we decided to wander for gelato (that is--after we tried the house tiramasu, and panacotta, and biscotti); walking straight into Giordano down the street. "Have a beautiful night; grazie!", he said. Unforgettable.

One of the most popular sights in Venice, you may have to wait and/or fight for the perfect spot to view the Bridge of Sighs, but it's so iconic it's worth the effort. Part of the Doge's palace, the bridge leads to the prison and it was said that prisoners sighed as they viewed Venice for the last time before incarceration. The bridge is a must see when in Venice and the view from inside the palace itself is not to be missed.

While in Venice, I became enamored with the windows and the doors. The arched doors and windows with the detail sculpted around them. The gorgeous shutters made of warm colors of wood that closed each day as the world outside them warmed up. The balconies were small, but often had plants and flowers on them. I could imagine life back in the 1400's...women in beautiful, full dresses pushing open the shutters to look for their lovers on the street below. My imagination went wild. If you go to Venice (and I recommend you do, just not in summer), pay attention to the detail of the buildings. There are lots of stories here!

This photo was taken immediately before we wandered down the narrowest alley I have ever seen, when we were lost in a deserted part of Venice. How the four of us lost not only our tour group but seemingly also every other person in Venice, I'll never know. There was something special about wandering around feeling as if we were the only people there though, as if walking through a ghost town. Creepy and eerie but magical. And oh so yellow!

St Mark's Basilica in Venice is one of my favourite buildings in Europe because it balances decadence with delicateness without being overbearing. St Peter's in Rome, for example, I thought was too much and not particularly beautiful. St Mark's on the other hand...reminds me of really ornate meringues. Maybe I think about food too much. Anyway, the beauty on the outside can't even begin to compete with the treasure that is the inside - unfortunately no photos are allowed. Photos wouldn't do it justice anyway, so this is a perfect reason to go and experience it for yourself!

Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque elements compete for the eye’s attention in the courtyard of the Doge’s Palace, which dates to the 14th century. You can appreciate the palace’s architecture from the lagoon and the Piazza San Marco, but visit the interior for the best introduction to the city’s history. The rooms are decorated with frescoes and marble carvings—all representations of mercantile wealth under the Doge, the Venetian republic’s supreme authority though the 1790s. The museum, council chambers, and prisons lend insight into historic Venice’s unique style of government. San Marco 1, 39/041-27-15911. Photo by Tips Images/Superstock. This appeared in the March/April 2013 issue.

This meal was delicious - the pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the seafood was fantastic. Best part of the meal though, was when our waiter brought us small shot glasses of bootlegged homemade limoncello to finish off our meal!

Venice is a wonderful city to get lost in and walk down the most random alleys only to stumble upon a great cafe or an art store or handmade jewelry made of murano glass. Of course sustenance is needed to keep one walking and a buonissimo whole roasted branzino was just the right lunch.

For it's true marvels and unique atmosphere, Veneiza has to be the most beautiful city on earth. The problem is everyone on earth wants a piece of that unique atmosphere. On this trip to the sinking city I was able do some sitting and watching it's day to day functions. The mail being delivered by boat. The garbage being removed by boat. The daily work commute by boat. The hoards of tourists arriving, by boat. You can't say that only in recent times has Venice become such a tourist trap. It was founded by people who were fleeing the Goths and hoped that it's harsh marshy lands would make a good hiding place. They were right. They invented an entire new way of building just to survive. Over time it became the most cosmopolitan city, trading sea port, and major Grand Tour stop which ment that everyone who was anyone went to Venice. So really it's just a thousand years of tradition that attracts the world by the millions. But, that thousand years of experience at tourism doesn't seem to make Venice any less insane. There was graffiti all over the Rialto Bridge. There was a huge advertisement covering the Bridge of Sighs. The Gondola parking lot is in front of the Hard Rock Cafe. Still everyone should see Venice at least once in their lifetime. It's a marvel of genius engineering combined with some of greatest art the world has known. It's tough being popular.

When planning a May trip to Italy with my husband, I knew that Venice was a city I definitely wanted to visit. I was looking forward to seeing some of the things I most associated with Venice, like the Grand Canal, gondolas, and St. Mark's Basilica. While those things were obviously impressive, one of the best surprises about Venice for me was the bold colors I found sprinkled throughout the city, my favorite being the bright yellow and blue of this rustic house - it couldn't have been more cheerful or inviting! You never know what you're going to find around the next corner in Venice, which adds so much to the city's immense charm. If you're planning a trip to Italy, Venice is a must-see.

I love this stretch of canal because of the brightly coloured and seemingly haphazardly constructed buildings. It was like seeing a cartoon come to life. As I was lost almost all day in Venice (the best way to be), I'm unsure of exactly where this was taken, but the best moments in Venice are the ones that you blindly stumble into, so it's better that you don't have any exact directions anyway! And even if you did have directions...you would still end up lost.