Arriving in Amazing Venice!

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We were up at 6.30am, which was not ideal, but it was necessary to make sure we caught our plane to Venice. We were looking forward to ­Venice, as we'd heard so much about it. We decided to catch a taxi to the airport because we would have had to make two train changes with our suitcases if we'd taken the tube. Unfortunately there had been heaps of flooding so it was a VERY slow ride. Still, made it on time, and boarded for this unique little place, Venice.

Well, we weren't disappointed, we flew in over the canals, and arrived to a sunny, blue skied day, something we have seen very little of since leaving London! And hot...well over 30 degrees! We walked a few minutes to catch our water taxi to the hotel...awesome! Fell in love with Venice during this short trip to the hotel...the canals, the bridges, the warm weather, the cobbled streets, water lapping up against the buildings, the lack of cars and noise, the peacefulness...we were in awe of it! The water taxi dropped us off at the the door to our hotel, and we were greeted by a doorman who welcomed us..."bonjourno'' and took our bags from us.

What a lovely hotel. It was one that Pasul and Jeff had reccommended so we knew it'd be nice, but it was more than nice (and had free wifi). We popped out for a wander, and sme lunch...pizza of course! Very different to pizzas at home, but yum! Had another little wander over some bridges and up and down some tiny avenues/streets....can imagine how people get lost in a place like this! Then we had our first gelato...the first of many I imagine. I think we might need to limit ourselves to one a day or we'll come home ENORMOUS! On our way back to the hotel we spotted a wee supermarket and popped in to buy some much needed water. They had cute little green trollies, that you pull along behind you, so we made sure we got a photo of that too!

We went back to the hotel, 3pm sharp because we wanted to watch the Wimbledon tennis final Federer vs Murray. GO Fed!! Unfortunately, after trying swapping from one chanel to another, we couldn' find it, and when we asked at reception, we were told the didn't have sky! Gutted! So, on a beautiful sunny day, in paradise, the three of us lay on a squeaky sofa bed listening to a live feed of the tennis, point by point, sighing and cheerinuntil finallay Federer won! YES! We could go out exploring this wonderful island again! Keith wore his Fed cap, in his honour, and within a few minutes of leaving our hotel, a fellow Fed fan shouted out "Go Fed!"

We drifted aimlessly, just keen to have a look around, and after about 5 minutes we found ourselves at the famous Rialto bridge....hundreds of people on it, all trying to find the perfect spot for the perfect photo...which we found! By now we'd decided we were a bit hungry, again, and found a great table right beside the canal. Beautiful food, but when we got the bill, we realised it was also very expensive! Just as well we had enjoyed it so much (and it was the perfect spot, right beside the canal).

At this point we decided to walk back to the hotel, drop Keith off, and Rach and I would walk back to the Rialto bridge to meet Ben and Kate who were due to arrive in about half an hour. So off we went, gazing into the little shops, marvelling at all the people, and the quaint architecture...and after a little time we realised that things no longer looked familiar, and we had no idea where we went. We decided to head 'back from whence we came' (copyright Ben and Kate) and found our way back to the Rialto so we could start again. Take two....off we set, knowing that it only took us 5 minutes to get here originally...but...the same thing happened...lost again! But this time, we ended up on the other side of the island, at St Marks square...a busy little place, and a one of the landmarkswe were told was a 'must see'. Tick! By now Kate and Ben were dure to arrive, so we decided we'd all go to meet them...at least we knew how to get there...we'd done it twice already! Once they arrive, tired from travelling for 5 hours, hungry from not eating for more than 5 hours, and looking to us to guide them to their hotles....ah...I don't think so! We asked directions, and were told that our hotel was very close, only about 3 minutes away! We knew that...we just didnt know which direction! To cut a very long story short, we wandered, round and round in circles, poor Ben and Kate with their packs, and still no closer to our hotels...at least we didn't think we were! EVENTUALLY, using Ben's trusty google maps on his blackberry, we moved in a more positive direction, turning left and right as google told us too. As we turned a corner about midnight (2 hours after Ben and Kate arrived) we spotted a neon sign that was a hotel, and we thought we should go in and ask them to help...as we got closer...it was OUR hotel!! Classic! Relieved, and tired, and hungry (in Ben and Kate's case) we stumbled inside, while Ben set off to find Kate's hotel (only 80m away) and find some food... All completed Ben arrived back to join us, and we all fell into bed exhausted. No alarm for tomorrow morning thanks!

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