pachecod / Dan Pacheco

Venice is one of those cities that we went to on a whim. It was so new and different and beautiful that years later I still wake up to realize I’ve been dreaming about walking through its twisted streets and over its bridges. And the food there is amazing.

We went in the early spring, which was a little cooler than most people like. However, I hear that this is the best time to go because the canals don’t smell. All of the waterways seemed fresh and clean to us.

My favorite thing to do there was to just walk around and get lost. It’s all one man-made island with one river twisting through it, so if you take a wrong turn you can’t really get into trouble. Just turn around and find another way to get where you’re headed.

Of course I’m biased since I have family in Puerto Rico, but I highly reccommend it. Wonderful people and beautiful surroundings wherever you go. If you want to go off the beaten path, go into the mountains and meet the inland people. Some believe they’re descended from Taino indians, although most scholars believe the Tainos were wiped out from plauges and their genes didn’t get very far. If you don’t have much time, hang out at the beach and drink pina coladas.

It’s like the Paris of the Americas, without all the snobs and pollution.