New Years Eve to Remember!!

The Christmas presents had hardly been put away when we found ourselves jetting of to Venice for the best part of a week. Nic (Jon's sister) was getting married in Venice on New Years Eve. We hadn't met Aly (Nic's intended!) before the wedding ... as expected, he's a really nice guy. Callum took to him straight away and he now has an Uncle "Annie" to go with Aunty "Nic Nic" (his words).
This would be Callum's first time on an aeroplane ... and for all of us, the first time we'd been to Venice. Everyone raved about the city before we left, so we had high hopes! With luggage and Callum & buggy in tow, the only sane option to get from the airport to the hotel was by water taxi. Callum loved it especially when the boat bounced over the wake of an oncoming boat. Back home, Callum loves pointing out every single mini, lorry, van, digger and car on to the roads to us, so we thought we might get a little peace & quiet around Venice. But no, Callum very quickly turned his attention to boats ... and yep, lots of those pointed out too!
Venice is so very different to any other city on this planet. Lots of canals (therefore lots of bridges to carry Callum-in-his-buggy over!) but everywhere is so picturesque, hence the amount of photos taken. The weather was really good for the time of year too. All but one day was blue skies - cold but you can do cold when it's not raining.We spent most of our time wandering around the various districts, not following any maps until we found ourselves at a dead end! Great way to see the city, especially in the Castello district on a Sunday when everyone hangs their washing out!
The wedding day itself was perfect; Nic looked stunning, everyone made it to the Palace Ca Farsetti in time - just!!, blue skies ... a great day was had by all.
After the ceremony, the photographer whisked Nic & Aly off for a whistle-stop photo tour of Venice whilst the rest of us made our way to Caffe Quadri on St Marks Square for afternoon drinks and canapés. We were in the restaurant on the second floor overlooking the square. Great spot for people watching.
The evening reception was at the Westin Europa and Regina Hotel. We had our own private area off the restaurant and the table looked stunning. Table flowers were orange roses and gerbaras placed into bowls filled with orange slices and dill with tiny lights. Tea lights, rose petals and chocolate hearts covered the table and place settings were set in little oranges. Oh, and Nic had made everyone masks too!The food too was lovely - Callum wasn't interested in his special meal, he just wanted to tuck into our food ... the mushroom ravioli with truffles was a big hit. Callum made it through the meal and even stayed up to see in the New Year with us.

The best bit though was Nic's face when they bought the wedding cake out. She had her heart set on a chocolate cake dusted with cocoa powder and decorated with orange flowers ... well she was not expecting a 3 foot tower of chocolate gateau which would have been enough to feed the whole of St Mark's Square on NYE!! Classic!