Italia! Venice

Venice!!! I have been looking forward to this day the entire trip. We took the train in early in the morning. There was a handsome Italian man on the train whom the others dubbed "Italian Ryan Seacrest". I thought it was funny that they assumed he didn't know English. Most everyone there seemed to know some. I thought he looked more like Jude Law. Oh so pretty.

We got off the train and stepped out into Venice - Oh Venice! You are everything I dreamed you would be. We took a boat over to St. Mark's Square area. We went to a glass blowing demonstration at Galleria San Marco that was pretty neat. We wandered around tiny streets and canals. We ate at a cafe - fantastic focaccia bread sandwich. We stopped at a soap store. We went to Ponte di Rialto. We sat on the side of the Grand Canal. This I could do all day every day.

 

We met back with the group for a lace demonstration then on to the gondola ride. Our boat got two bottles of sparkling white wine and I certainly drank my share of it. I was a little tipsy! The ride was beautiful and fast. I want to go again & again.

Venice is sinking. Built on a marsh on top of millions of chopped down trees, petrified and crumbling. It will one day be gone and that is hard to imagine.

We ate dinner out at a restaurant near St. Mark's Square that night. I had pasta with vegetables and coffee. Earlier, we ate more gelato at a stand nearby. Mmm gelato!! We met back with our group for the trek to the hotel. I wish we spent another day here. I didn't want it to end!