Pretty Venice

Venice in sunshine quickly surpassed memories of Rome in rain. And the glisten of water, water everywhere reminded my of why I had liked Venice so much all those years ago.

It was an afternoon without a plan, without relying on Rick Steves' recommendations. We wandered aimlessly through the small streets and over the bridges of Venice, taking in the sights and smells, buying little besides nourishment, and taking lots of pictures. It would seem that just about anywhere you look is a photo op.

We quickly got used to the fact that these people are well-meaning, but not very precise, when it comes to directions. It seems that everything is about a 10-minute walk, which is usually quite wrong.

Our last stop on our walking tour was St. Marks square, a beautiful piazza dating back to the 11th century. From there we caught a water taxi, which slowly took us back to our hotel.

We met lots of nice people on our travels today. A couple from Venice taught me a trick for corraling my suitcase on the train. A couple from Miami on the water taxi traded stories of travel in Italy with us. Tonight as we ate in a kosher Italian restaurant, we struck up a conversation with a German couple from Hamburg.

A little sun and a lot of walking in this most unique city rendered me a fit traveling companion once again.

However, I'm preparing myself for another 70% rain day tomorrow. Hopefully we will find interesting things to do indoors.

(the next day) The rain turned out to be a few sprinkles. We spent the day exploring non-touristy areas of Venice and re-joining the throngs of tourists to visit the glass factories on Murano, an island off of Venice. It was fascinating to watch these artists continue a trade that has been most of their families for generations.

I'm in love with Venice, just as we prepare to leave tomorrow on a cruiseship. Maybe someday when I can use our computer on the Internet my photos can catch up with my words on this Blog!