Our first day coincided end with a 24 hour public transport strike in Italy. However, the train was running into Venice so we managed to get in to have our first look around. Yes, it is very spectacular. We didn't do too much other than walk around to orientate ourselves and soak in the sights. John was making good use of the digital camera he got for his birthday. We saw the Rialto bridge and St Marco Piazza. We booked a tour of the Doge's Palace for the following day.
For those people who remembered my black finger nail injury of the very first day of the holiday, well, I pulled it off today! I did have to cut it a little because one edge of the nail was too firmly attached to my finger. Nevertheless, it was a great relief to get it off as it had been bothering me for the last couple of days.
On Saturday, we went called in on the barber who cut my hair and had a photo taken with him. i introduced him to my 'bambino's' and he laughed at Johns size when I called him a bambino! We went into Venice on the most crowded bus in the world. We felt like sardines, John was the last one to squash on! Once in Venice we went on a guided tour of Doge's Palace. The palace itself was stunning, the guide probably was very knowledgable but her English wasn't brilliant and I was a bit disappointed with her. We did San Marco's Basilica which was very special as well. The ceiling was made up of a mosaic and very golden.
We had a couple of ice creams and John and I compared ice cream eating technique. He eats the ice creams like me but it turns out that he has a blowing method to get the ice cream down the cone. This is strictly forbidden under the international ice cream eating rules that I wrote two days ago because it leads to poor tongue action!
Sunday, we had a slow start and then made our way by a water bus called a vaporetto through the grand canal to the Lido on the other side of Venice. We had a couple of hours on the beach and a couple of swims. R & J are not well suited to sun bathing with their skin colour! We had a late meal it the same restaurant near to the apartment. We are getting well known in the area now and had good fun with the restaurant boss and his wife. One of the staff sang a few Italian songs. He was pretty rubbish but it just added to the enjoyment of the night.
On the last full day in Venice we went up the Bell Tower in San Marco Piazza and enjoyed the views. Then we went into the Correr Museum. This is a building that includes the far end and one side of San Marco Piazza. It was once the imperial palace and part of the visit is going to the rooms of the Austrian Emperor and Empress. The rest is the collection of Teodore Correr who collected a wide variety of items and antiquities that illustrate the history of Venice. The museum was very well presented and interesting and it was interspersed with some modern art. The rooms remained grand and it was a good place to visit.
My journey from here is now planned and my next destination is Padua tomorrow. Be warned I will be Shakespeared up!
Photo 1, Reunited family.
Photo 2, First view of Venice after we got off the train.
Photo 3, Riato Bridge - I thought the Rialto was a cinema!
Photo 4, St Marco's Piazza.
Photo 5, Dogge's Palace.
Photo 6, View across the water.
Photo 7, The Finger!!
Photo 8, My friend the barber.
Photo 9, Inside the courtyard at The Doge's Palace.
Photo 10, Inside the Basilica.
Photo 11, R & J.
Photo 12, Inside the Correr Museum. Just one of the grand rooms.
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