Another smooth Eurostar ride out of Firenze and we were in Venezia in 3 hours. We immediately fell in love with Venice! It is so picturesque, unique and charming that you just want to move right into one of the gorgeous decaying but elegant palaces. And you can drive your boat every day!
Venice gets very crowded during the day with tourists but it's very easy to get away from the tourists by walking down any of the very narrow (7feet wide) streets. We are not shoppers but Venice is one of the nicest places to shop that I have ever seen. Extraordinarily cute shops, reminiscent of back alley Disneyland, with true Venetian crafts are everywhere... with hand blown glass, masks, jewelry, calligraphy paper... you name it... and of course the big designers such as Gucci, Prada and the others.
We stopped for lunch at an out of the way deli and had salami, olives, cheese and bread, relaxing by one of the hundreds of bridges on the canals. Everywhere we have gone in Italy, the food has been delicious and reasonably priced.
We strolled many kilometers over bridges and narrow alleys and saw countless shops, canals, boats and gondolas. As the day drew to a close and a sleepy evening approached, we walked a few short steps from our charming Hotel Flora and made an excellent bargain of 80 Euros for a gondola ride. The prices vary according to demand but at around 7:30 pm, it was quiet. During the day, the prices go up to as much as E 150 for a half hour ride! Our dusk gondola ride was absolutely everything we always imagined--pleasant, quiet, dimly lit, peaceful and romantic.
The kids were lulled practically to sleep on the gondola so we put them to bed and went out for a quiet dinner at one of the hundreds of delicious restaurants that are everywhere and casually sipped on red wine, enjoying la dolce vite for the last wonderful night in Italy. The next morning was Easter and we were awakened by the most impressive chorus of church bells I have ever heard! (Somehow some chocolate eggs wound up by the kids bedside, too!) The bells went on for a long time—a really long time!
We toured the most famous sights of Venice... but not in detail... we just wanted to see them. We saw Piazza San Marco (St Marks square and Cathedral), the Bridge of Sighs, and Venice's signature Rialto Bridge. By sheer coincidence we ran into Tanya
Glazier from Piedmont at an internet cafe! (Go Piedmont Swim Team!)
There was a light drizzle of rain so we spent some much needed time in the lobby and garden of our hotel, which we decided was our favorite so far. As the day neared an end, it was time to say Arivaderci to Venezia--and to Italia--and board our overnight train to Paris, our mouths watering for the chocolate croissants we knew awaited us in the morning at some Parisian patisserie! Ciao!
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