Venice

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Firstly, a quick summary of the second day in Vienna - mild weather, missed tickets for the Spanish Riding School so spent the afternoon at Haus des Meers Aqua Terra Zoo (mostly looking for bats). The views from the observation deck at the top were good. We had dinner in a Hungarian restaurant that we stumbled upon called Ilana’s Stuberl which provided the best meal we have had so far on the trip. Ilana and her husband Michael escaped to Vienna from Hungary in 1956 and the following year opened the Kleine Stueberl (Little Room) to provide shelter and food to fellow refugees. I had pork and chicken steaks fried in garlic served with bacon, chilli, rice, potatoes and salad on a wood platter. It tasted amazing, Nat had pork in breadcrumbs and afterwards we shared the signature desert of crepe with apricot jam, crème cheese and chocolate sauce. Yum Yum.

The night train wasn’t bad. We had a compartment with 6 bunks. The height between each bunk was three hand spans so a bit claustrophobic but we had a good sleep and a small breakfast before we arrived in Venice.

So on to Venice - I spy with my little eye, something beginning with W.

Over 20 million people visit Venice every year and I think at least 10 million of them were there when we were, including Nigel Planer who I think we passed in the street. The crowds were enormous, the pigeons everywhere, the prices astronomical and the weather scorching. Nat loved it though, his favourite place so far. We spent most of our time sitting on the edges of canals with our feet dangling in.

Nat has a gelato budget of €24 for the eight days that we are in Italy. So far he has had:

- Menta Cioccolato and Stracciatella from Gelateria Amore, Venice - €2
- Cioccolato and Vinighia from Gelateria Amore, Venice - €2

We stayed in a small B&B next to Palazzo Grassi. This is the first place we have stayed in that has a mirror and natural sunlight in the same room and I have discovered that I look horrendous: I have bags under my eyes and am covered in bruises. If anyone bumps into Mr Charles Worthington, please tell him that his frizz reducing shampoo and conditioner do not work. So I bought new sunglasses to cover the bags, hair bands to control the frizz and I am working on a tan to mask the bruises.

Pizza (Nat) and pasta (me) for dinner then we sat in Palazzo Loredan as the sun set. Nat bought a toy that lights up as you propel it into the air with an elastic band, then floats down for you to catch. Hours of fun!

I’m writing this on the train to Florence, but will upload it later. It’s the most luxurious train so far, but I think the train track may have been built by the man who built the big dipper track at Blackpool. I’m being thrown about all over the place - great, more bruises!

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