Venice

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Gelato, nougat, expresso coffee, spaghetti with clams, biscotti sticks, red wine, salami, pancetta and parmesan cheese (mountain parmesan...?)

Venice brings out the best in everyone, it is beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful city in the whole world. Composed of medieval and gothic facades on grand old buildings, sitting majesticaly alongside canals filled with aqua green lagoon water flooding in from the ocean, its a mystical colour suggesting it might be the home of mermaids (swirling seaweed straight out of the Goblet of Fire).

We spent 4 wonderful days exploring the narrow alleyways, marbled churches, statues, early renaissance art and canals of Venice. Also an awful lot of tourist shops..along with the other millions of other tourists.

Best parts were riding the vaporetto (water bus) all over Venice (because we bought the 3 day pass) and of-course San Marcos gorgeous cathedral and square, church built first in the C8th to hold St Marcos remains and rebuilt in stone in 11th then revised with Renaissance flourish in the early C16th....not least because I got to see it completely by myself! I bought the last ticket into the alter entrance ($2 Euros) and stayed up there so long, when I came out, the place had been emptied of tourists and I got to walk around in complete silence..it was magical)

We basically got up, had brecky at hotel (Bartolemeo, right in centre) then strolled around or visited different parts of the city, stopped off for gelato and expressos, had a rest or lunch at the hotel then spent the afternoon exploring more on the water boats. At night we went out to one of the many cafes or restaurants and had pasta or pizza or calamari etc.

Christine bought lots of souvenirs and both girls have had many gelatos of various flavours, all great. The gelato and pasta in Italy lives up to its reputation.

Train to Florence tomorrow.

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Photos

Rialto Bridge
2 mins from hotel

Lunch at the hotel
parmesan, salami, bread stick, olives and wild boar sausage