Venice

It was an early start for us today. We were up at 4.30 to catch the shuttle to the airport. We were flying with Easy Jet so we weren't taking any chances. We ate our breakfast while we waited for our flight to Venice at 7.00am. We arrived in Venice at 8.00 and by 9.00am we were walking along by the canals. We opted to buy an all-day ticket to cruise the canals by boat and this proved to be a very good option. It was such fun! The boats were crowded but if you stood outside the breeze and the view was fabulous. I was like a dog on the back of a ute walking from side to side of the boat taking pictures.

There is something charming about the houses all slotted together in higgelty piggelty arrangement by the water. The boat took us to Murano  Island where they make beautiful things out of glass. It was lovely to be away from the crowds for a time and still have the beauty of the canals. We looked, walked, shopped and ate at a local café where the old men were sitting around playing cards. In the afternoon Ella got to go on her gondola ride. We had a singing gondolier which for a time was entertaining. It was calming floating around the canals getting to see warts and all of Venice. Many visitors arrive at their hotels by water taxi or gondola and it was amusing to see the doors of the hotel lobby facing out on to the water.

In the evening we had dinner beside the canal where the gondolas went past with accordions playing. One gondola had an opera singer! We had a fabulous day in Venice.