Last Monday (19-Nov) was the fourth anniversary of  hamakei and me starting our relationship, and to celebrate he surprised me with a trip to Venice (of which I only became aware of when we dropped the car at a parking lot-- sneaky). We spent 3 days seeing several places, going through crowds, avoiding the scammers (if anyone tries to offer you a flower, *don't* accept it) and trying some local food -- one place near where we stayed offered pizza with french fries (yes, we tried it). And no, we didn't ride a gondola -- the price seemed excessive, and the canals are so crowded with many gondolas and even powered boats, that it hardly feels like a unique experience.

I'm surprised how affordable the flights from the UK were. Food and lodging can be a different thing, though.