Venice to bled, a few perfect days

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Day ten. Phew, that's all.... Well maybe not quite all! The promised breakfast was a delight as we planned how to get down the mountain. Obviously by road but eek what a road! Google maps said five and a half hours and, for the first three hours, we were on it. We made it down the mountain in one piece (still not entirely sure what some of the car noises were....) And bid farewell to the med. We swore at mental Italian drivers, went through a million tunnels and thought we were doing well. Then the traffic started. Lots of traffic. Beautiful scenery, plenty of snacks but....traffic. so much so that my original plan of being at a table eating pizza by six turned into a 'if we make it to near Venice by six we've done well' Seth was a star Ash put a shift in driving all that way and I provided snacks and drinks. Finally we headed over the long road to the island of Venice. We parked and found a boat (at this point any boat would have done but we even got on the right one) and sweated our way through the ride down the grand canal. I've been really looking forward to bringing Seth here and I wasnt disappointed. He instantly fell in love with the place, the gondolas, buildings and the very annoying men trying to hawk light up tatt on St Mark's Square! We got to our hotel, one we've stayed at before, right on the front, sat in front of the air con for a bit and then made our way out for pizza under the setting sun. Magical ☺️

Day eleven. Just a Fabulous day☺️ a nice lie in then down to breakfast. I've still not conquered my fear of the lift in this hotel (slow and small ) to the point that this morning I got in and right back out again, much to everyone's amusement! After breakfast we headed out into the wall of heat, Seth taking his role as Captain very seriously and guiding us on his map. First stop was the church of San Zaccaria, somewhere I visited with my mum, and just round the corner from our hotel. It's a lovely place to remember her and our trip to Venice. Then it was on the hunt for a souvenir, promised to Seth for being such a fabulous traveller. Sadly he just couldn't make up his mind. He tried on masks, eyed up gondolas and a variety of tourist tatt, eventually going for a solar powered gondola which he haggled down a couple of euros. We stopped for drinks, Seth went in, asked for the bill almost in Italian and paid, all on his own. Our job here is done! After a good old wander, taking in the sights, we recharged back at the hotel, air con and a teeny nap were in order for me and Ash. Seth, he could have kept on going. It's safe to say he has loved Venice, taking it all in and absorbing it all. With a nice cooler breeze making it a little more bearable we headed back to st mark's Square for very expensive drinks. Having been before we were well aware of the outrageous cost but also know how nice it is. We watched a crazy man actually feed the pigeons (kind of backfired when several landed actually on his wife and kid, they definitely did not take this well!) Then watched another man take pictures and laugh as his very small kids were dive bombed by sea gulls as he threw bread on the floor. We listened to the music, sipped our very expensive drinks and made the most of the 'free' snacks. We wandered for tea by a canal just by the Bridge of Sighs, are pasta and pizza and listened to the waiter use the same lines on every customer, but who can blame him? Then it was time for ice cream. We'd had one earlier which had, predictably, ended up causing a fair bit of mess but Seth had been promised another given the heat. This one was even messier. Spiderman's head came off in one giant lump leading to sticky face and arms then, while Seth tried to eat this giant lump of ice, the rest started melting down his leg. Not sure the two people he was sat between were entirely happy but a few wipes and he was cleanish, of something of a potential wasp magnet. A wander around the stalls, a drink overlooking the grand canal and it was time for bed. A truly perfect holiday day ☺️

Day twelve. After a middle of the night rescue of Seth who fell between two beds and a very itchy night (cheers mozzies) we had our breakfast on the late side (nearly leaving Seth's tablet behind) and then I braved my lift fear with Seth holding my hand the whole way up and giving me a 'curing hug! We then set off in the blazing sun to try and get our water bus to the car. Unfortunately there was a bit of a translation error and we walked a tad further then we needed to (very hot by now) and then had to wait half an hour in the boiling heat (even hotter). Boats came and went but we'd got tickets for a different, albeit faster boat. There was a lot of sweat...... Finally our boat came and the driver was clearly on some kind of a promise as he seemingly shouted at everyone, almost drove into a few other boats and started going before the last passengers were even on. We saw both a police and ambulance boat and wondered if they were waiting for us! We did however make it back to the car (much to Ash's joy before done folk who got on one of the earlier boats I'd looked sadly at as we waited) it was warm but insect free (the last but one time we parked there we came back to a van full of ants) and we finally got on the road to Slovenia.
Unlike recent journeys, the roads were clear, the route going from Italy to Austria and then Slovenia was stunning and we even managed to buy the right vignette before getting to the country that needed them. After being marched off by a scary Slovenian police lady a few years back Ash was determined to get that bit sorted.
As we approached Bled we stopped at Lidl. The man begging for money at the door was still there even after three years (he asks for money and if you say you don't have any he asks for the euro you put in your trolley, cheeky but seemingly effective!) We did not have a euro but they did at least have wheelie baskets so we got a couple and headed in. Within a minute Seth decided he needed a wee. Jolly good fella...... So Ash took him to the nearby maccies. This left me with two, quite hefty, wheelie baskets to drag around. Once again this holiday looking quite special in Lidl. I do wonder if I'm on their list of people to watch out for now after this and the whole France episode.
We got to our (awesome) apartment, parked up, emptied the car and then just took in the view of the lake. I love this place. After tea we wandered down to the lake, spotted fish, played with sticks (not me) and enjoyed the breeze. We headed back (I limped, a couple's of mozzies have decided to eat my legs and they're quite sore although the wasp sting has almost stopped itching (did I mention I was stung?)) Although the murder wasp with teeth flying around this evening seemed to be hunting me out so watch this space.

Oh and did I mention I love this place?

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