We touched down at Venice’s Marco Polo around 10:00 Sunday morning, quickly gathered our bags and met up with our driver who would shuttle us to the pier where we would catch our boat transfer to the hotel.

The journey took approximately an hour total and was well worth the wait. For our stay in Venice we chose the JW Marriott which sits on its own island with magnificent views of Venice off in the distance.

A bit weary from our travel we elected to enjoy the property on our first day abroad with lunch, strolling the grounds, and the rooftop pool overlooking the Venice.

By late afternoon we retreated to our room for a nap and prepare for a special dinner we had been looking forward to for months. During our time living in Washington DC we frequented several restaurants by Fabio Trabiocchi. He recently opened Fiola at Dopolavoro Venezia and we could not wait to try it.

The food and service were spectacular. We really enjoyed conversing with the staff about our prior experiences in the Trabiocchi restaurants.

After enjoying the multiple (like a lot multiple) course tasting menu complete with wine pairings we wandered back through the property to catch some sleep and plan our first full day in Venice!