Venice, the City of Lights, Queen of the Adriatic, the City of Bridges and setting of the video to Madonna's 1984 hit "Like a Virgin. It was our destination for a long, cold weekend in February.
Of the 4 days, 2 were spent on the train (8hrs from Zurich). The first 4 hrs of the trip journey through the heart of the Alps, past the beautiful lakes of Lugano and Como, into Milan; the next 4 hrs through fairly bland, somewhat industrial, gray Italian landscapes. (video of train trip to be uploaded - check back in a couple of days)
The long and sometimes dreary train ride was absolutely worth the two days meandering the alleys of Venice.
We now fully agree with those who say to throw away the map, get lost on the many islands, peer into store windows, and linger over cups of cappuccino in quiet cafes. 
The quietness was only occasionally interrupted by two little, active girls. We imagined solitude nonetheless.Venice in winter is infrequently stinky, stuffed to the gills with tourists (strained maritime pun not intended), yet remains stunningly beautiful and slightly melancholy.
Established at the end of the Roman empire as the citizens in surrounding Roman towns fled the onslaught of the Germanic tribes, the city is built on over 100 islands in a marshy lagoon. Despite the seemingly inhospitable location, Venice eventually controlled much of the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages, serving as an embarkation point for the Crusades, a maze for a young Marco Polo to explore, one of many vibrant centers of the Renaissance in Italy and home of Vivaldi.
After the first half day, crossing at least 15 of the first 400+ bridges in Venice, we ditched the stroller and let the girls walk. Lily proved to be the more avid walker as opposed to Mea who prefers the "lingering in quiet cafes part" or in plastic houses at the playground to write in her journal. Here is an example of the contrast -
It was a great trip. Here are some additional pics on slide show for your viewing pleasure.
