Three nights in Venice, is it enough? Not really, but we made the most of it. We spent our time wandering around the streets, bridges, and canals, drinking hot chocolate and eating seafood, and riding the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal. 
Piazza San Marco
Our first day in Venice we made our way over to Piazza San Marco to see the square and the cathedral. This was our first experience with the acqua alta, the seasonal high tide flooding. To get around, the city puts up walkways above the flood waters and the pedestrians take these to get around. The locals all have galoshes and traipse through the water.
First we took the elevator up in the Campanile, the clock tower, and on such a sunny, clear day we enjoyed spectacular views (and a lot of cold wind). After that, we checked out the Basilica San Marco and the museum above. With the museum admission, you also get onto the rooftop, which was really cool and worth the 5 euro ticket. Also there are nice, clean bathrooms (its hard to find toilets as you’re walking around, you have to pay for all of them, and many are dirty). You aren’t allowed to take pictures inside of either section, which is a shame. 
City Exploration
We spent most of our time strolling around, taking pictures and ducking into shops and bakeries. We found a splendid costume shop, La Bauta, where my girls chose some unique, handmade carnival masks. You can also design and paint your own masks in this shop. 
Running Venice
In the mornings, I wake up earlier than everyone else, so I usually head out for a run. Running in a city of water and cobblestones is not exactly easy. My running was more of a walk, jog, figure out where I was, run, jog, climb stairs… It was worth it – I saw both the sun and the acqua alta rise.
Hot Chocolate
The best hot chocolate I’ve ever had in my life was in Venice, 15 years ago on my honeymoon. I insisted we therefore drink as many hot chocolates as possible to see if it was as great as I remembered. Luckily, my whole family was on board, as this was an important and delicious experiment. Findings included plenty of amazing hot chocolate. We tried: VizioVirtu, Caffe del Doge, Cioccolateria Dal Mas, Pasticceria Ponte del Paste, and Dolce la Vita. Our top spots were Cioccolateria Dal Mas and Dolce la Vita, but really they are all excellent. And great coffee, too.
Street Art
There’s a lot of graffiti in Venice. Some of it is pretty fun.
The View from the Vaporetto
One of the best ways to see the grand buildings and palaces along the canal is to ride the Vaporetto, the water taxi, from start to finish on its route. On a clear day, the scene is oh so Venice – palaces, gondolas, pedestrians, cafe goers. We bought a 3 day pass, which meant we could ride as much as we wanted. We therefore rode all through Venice, and also took the Vaporetto to both Burano and Murano. 
thecloudsarelowerhere 