Day 31

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Left Florence on a mid morning train and off to Venice.

Another trip that is only about two hours.

Arriving at Venice and for the first time, we get pushed into taking a private boat to our hotel, rather than trying to work out the water taxi. At 50 Euro it turned out alright and lucky for us, he was a pretty reasonable guy.

Check in to find we have a great spot overlooking the bay on the water and 300 m from San Marco square.

The room is quiet large and decorated old Italian style.

We head off to explore, cautious not to get lost.

It is everything we had imagined and we love the vibe it has.

The canals are super busy with watercraft of all sizes as we watch hundreds of gondolas, water taxis, and power boats all finding there way in a dis-organised manner.

We are surprised at the number of gondolas and the length of them.

Skipping through San Marco square we head to the famous rialto bridge, which is under repair at the moment, but still passable.

This takes us through many small laneways and over hidden canals.

As Venice is famous for glass blowing and masquerade masks, we walk past many shops full of examples of their local craft.

We also find the local fish market which is closed, but will be a good sight to see.

After a nice tea, walking back through San Marco and the classical bands are out in force. There were about five different ones in front of restaurants, and they were great to listen to as the crowd went from one to another.

Stayed out till nearly dark, enjoying the Venice twighlight.

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