Venice - May 23

Best night's sleep so far in our tiny room! Breakfast a bit ho hum and they don't even have a toaster so had to make do with different cheeses and a fetta, black olive and cucumber salad. Never been a fan of scrambled eggs so avoid the mass produced stuff that hotels offer. At 9 am we meet our guide, Kiara whi was really interesting the way she explained things, and kep moving at a reasonable pace which isn't necessarily easy in the laneways of Venice. The weather was great so it really was enjoyable seeing the courtyards, churches, squares and bridges that are Venice. The Carabinieri building is around the laneway from our hotel. It was initially where nuns lived. You can ask for special permission to look through a couple of areas that were of specific interest to when the nuns had the building, but I didn't want to hold ip the group so just settled for my photo out front.

It is very easy to get lost as nothing runs in a straight line. There are bridges everywhere and some laneways are so narrow it has to be single file. As the buildings are all at least 3 Floors tall, there is no ability to see any landmarks. There are also no shortage of shops of every description.

The little brass plaques are dotted around Venice. A German historian is reasearching all the Jews who were taken by Germans duringthe war. When hecidentifies where those people lived st the time, a plaque is being placed in the pavement in front if that house. There are currently about 130 plaques. He is about half way through. I think it is a very respectful memorial. Kiara took us into what was originally a bond store for German traders, which was left to disrepair, but then transformed into the post office and is now a beautiful building that houses many top brand designers such as Tiffany, Cartier, etc. The local products were astronomical prices, so it was a matter of look but don't touch.

One of the hotels has a specific display of some lego that Kiara has put together. She is a teacher and uses different mediums to engage with students, especially those with special needs. So about once a month she gives the students lego to put something togethet. This month her message is about everyone being equal, and inclusive. I just love the idea that a hotel displays her little lego homage with nothing in it for the hotel.

One house in particular is a stand out for the round staircase that the owners specifically commissioned. It was their way of showing how rich they were. The most recent family member has given it to the community so that it has offices for social services/welfare and a small museum on one of the floors.

There are gondolas everwhere, and no shortage of tourists wanting to queue to get in them. Did that last time and decided once was enough.

We get to St Mark's square which is much more crowded than it was last night when Julie and I had a quick wander through. The murals and statues really are beautiful. The tower is something like 100metres high. We were there just on 11 so got to see the mechanical clock where the bronze bell ringers at the very top do their thing.

Time to head to the Murano glass blowing demonstration. Julie is under strict ordersto keep saying No to me if I even look like going for my wallet. I even made her practice saying it last night! The fellow making the pitcher took less than 5 minutes. He wore no gloves or apron. I teckon he may have done it once or twice before. I did have to laugh while he was blowing the glass, when Julie turns to me and says that she has done glass blowing at university! Brought me right back to our tour of the ceramic and mosaic factory where she told our guide that she had done it all before! After the glass blowing demonstration we get the hard sell. I can't believe the prices they are now asking. I spy some figurines that are similar but not nearly as good as my 2 from Murano. I check the prices and decide that I am increasing my home contents insurance when I get home! The small figurine was 1,345 Euro and the big one about 1,000 more!

We then head for lunch and Julie says her basil and pine nut pesto spaghetti is lovely. My penne Amatriciana was really good too. We weren't impressed though when we got the bill as we had been served uber expensive wine which we did not specifically ask for. That meant we didn't leave a tip so our waiter did himself a disservice.

We waddle back towards our hotel, but not before we find a shop that has lovely Murano glass wear so there are 2 whiskey glasses that I simply must have, and a special little trinket for VJR. Julie is like a woman possessed and keeps finding treasures that she has to have. The stalls near the hotel get our business too where I buy 2 dresses and Julie buys herself a top. We head back into the hotel to drop off our purchases, and decide yo now wander at large in the direction of the Rialto bridge. Found that eadily enough but got hopelessly misplaced when we tried to head back to the hotel. Finally found St Mark's square and back to our room (after Julie bought herself a Tiramisu cannoli and ended up being given 2). It's 6 o'clock and happy hour so we settle in for a cheese and cracker supper although Julie started with a cannoli. Need to pack our bags ready for tomorrow's departure when we head for Croatia. Venice has been a lovely way to end our short Italy foray.