Venice
Venice
We arrived in Venice yesterday afternoon, after a long travel day. We have come a long way east. After settling in our hotel - which is way better than the last - we headed into Venice to see Venice by Night. Venice really is beautiful, and by not arriving there until about 9pm, the crowds had started to clear. We had a brief tour, and time to look over St Marks Square and church. We learned a little of Marco Polo and Casanova and their exploits.
Next morning, we were back in Venice early, before the crowds and the heat. We were on the square by about 8.30am, where we visited a Murano glass factory. Murano is actually the main island that they blow glass on, rather than a given brand. We then toured the Doges magnificent palace, and visited the Danieli Hotel, where they filmed scenes of the last James Bond movie. The Danieli was awesome, a hotel of old world charm and class. We discussed having a drink in the bar, but even a softdrink was 8 euro’s so we decided against it.
In the afternoon, we caught a ferry over to a Venetian island, Burano. Burano is a quaint little island, accessible by ferry. It has no cars and only a couple of streets. It is like something out of a painting, and many painters have painted it. All the houses are different colours and very simple. We had a traditional Italian lunch in a local restaurant, the courses just kept coming! You can get a bed there for 30 euro! We looked at the Venetian lace, bought up a little more glass, including something special for the kids, and then began a long ferry ride back to the bus. I slept a lot of the way, as I had a fair bit of wine with lunch!
We arrived in Venice yesterday afternoon, after a long travel day. We have come a long way east. After settling in our hotel - which is way better than the last - we headed into Venice to see Venice by Night. Venice really is beautiful, and by not arriving there until about 9pm, the crowds had started to clear. We had a brief tour, and time to look over St Marks Square and church. We learned a little of Marco Polo and Casanova and their exploits.
Next morning, we were back in Venice early, before the crowds and the heat. We were on the square by about 8.30am, where we visited a Murano glass factory. Murano is actually the main island that they blow glass on, rather than a given brand. We then toured the Doges magnificent palace, and visited the Danieli Hotel, where they filmed scenes of the last James Bond movie. The Danieli was awesome, a hotel of old world charm and class. We discussed having a drink in the bar, but even a softdrink was 8 euro’s so we decided against it.
In the afternoon, we caught a ferry over to a Venetian island, Burano. Burano is a quaint little island, accessible by ferry. It has no cars and only a couple of streets. It is like something out of a painting, and many painters have painted it. All the houses are different colours and very simple. We had a traditional Italian lunch in a local restaurant, the courses just kept coming! You can get a bed there for 30 euro! We looked at the Venetian lace, bought up a little more glass, including something special for the kids, and then began a long ferry ride back to the bus. I slept a lot of the way, as I had a fair bit of wine with lunch!