Getting lost in Venice

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Geo: 45.4359, 12.3374

The guidebook reassures us that Venice is an island, and therefore, you can't get too lost. It felt it at times yesterday!

We got up, and Steven and I went to buy bread and coffees for breakfast whilst the kids read in bed. They are getting so grown up! Croissants taste different here - more like a panettone texture - but the coffee was the best since I left home. Wonderful!

We then headed up to St Marks, wandering past the Armenian church that we can see from our apartment, and past 1000 shops - saw chess sets made like Romans vs Barbarians, and dogs vs cats. We then entered St Marks, to find large puddles at "acqua alto" and the adventure of walking on the board ways. We went to St Marks, and admired the mosaics of gold. Then we went up the campanile - the symbolic bell tower. It is a reconstruction - the original fell down in 1902, leaving a 12m pile of debris but not damaging any surrounding buildings or inhabitants! The views from the tower were amazing - really helped me to make sense of the layout of Venice, which is not possible from the ground. But the wind was cold...poor G thought her little nose would fall off! And when the bell rang for midday, right above our head...it was something special!

We then crossed in front of the Doges Palace, past the Bridge of Sighs, and up into the Castello region. I don't think I'd realised quite how quickly the tourist streets drop away, and you find yourself in suburbia....and very quiet suburbia on New Years Eve in the middle of the day. We walked up near the Arsenal (but didn't quite get there) for an hour, looking for somewhere to eat. We finally found a little cafe, full of locals, serving a choice of 2 dishes - lasagna or mixed tempura fired fish. The local colour would have been wonderful if the staff hadn't been run off their feet to serve everyone...and if the lasagna hadn't been still frozen in the middle. Oh well - feel that we were the only Aussies there this week!!

By the time we got back to the apartment, everyone was exhausted, and we knew that New Years Eve was upon us. We all had a sleep - I woke, and at Steven's recommendation, slipped out for an aperitif on St Marks by myself, to use the free wifi in the square. Wonderful hour of people watching!

We then walked the other way from our apartment, to the Rialto, which we reached quickly. By then, the crowds were growing, and we joined the fun by buying masks for the evening - the theme was "White Venice" but it seemed that anything goes with the masks! We had dinner by the Rialto Bridge, eating pizzas, and then a walk back to St Marks to see the crowds building. We then returned to the apartment for some UNO card games, waiting for the time to tick down towards midnight. Poor old Tom announced at 11pm that he would be grumpy tomorrow if he had to stay awake any longer...so off to bed for him. Steven, bless him, agreed to stay home with him.

Georgia, Matt and I headed off to St Marks at 11.45pm, joining an absolute crush of humanity. There was music (all in English) and a girl in a trapeze ring dancing, and then...the countdown to midnight, shown up on the Napoleonic wing of St Marks Square and on the campanile. Many screams and much spraying of prosecco at midnight!!!! We then moved over to the corn of the Basilica to see the fireworks in the lagoon at 12.15am...some nice American girls let Matt climb up the wall with them, so he could see too.

It was amazing, watching the fireworks as they silhouetted the Lion of St Mark! Will never forget it.

The crazy crush of people to get back home was something I won't forget either. In St Marks, people were pushing and we were in a giant human sandwich. Georgia said we were like penguins huddled against the cold. I was a little concerned - mainly about Matthew, who was down low in the crowd, and about losing a kid....but we negotiated our way to the colonnades, and then down the street to the quiet of our little cloister.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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Comments

[Lyn]

We have seen Clint dance to Abba....hope you all sang better (kidding). We would love some of that amazing kransekaka (seriously jealous).

[Katie Nicholson]

Two naughty girls...