Camping Ca' Savio Venice

... control measure (hint: it’s not working!) If you even accidentally drive into the area, much less park there, they will photo your car and send you a hefty bill! Did we mention that drivers here seem to all have the same death wish?

Our first stop was the Bargello Museum, which is home to works by Donatello and Michelangelo, among others. Then off to the Galleria Academia .Yes, we went to an Accademia in Venice, too. It does get confusing! The ...

... of you who are not Reddingites, Calatrava designed the world famous Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA. Michele had read about the Venice bridge and found that it was just as plagued by delays and cost over-runs as the Redding project. Michele describes herself as the only resident of Redding who hates the bridge, more for its cost than its beauty.
You will see some pictures on the blog, but two ...

... they no longer swarm the tourists. But it you still have to watch out for the Pigeon Poop! The Basillica was another feast for the eyes - and ears! As we approached the central altar, imagine our surprise as the “theme” from Phantom of the Opera suddenly blasted from the organ!
Next, we toured the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. This wealthy American woman, who lived in an palatial home on the Grand Canal, had two great loves: her dogs and modern art. After her death, her ...

... pillows and as many makeshift covers (aka jackets and sweatshirts) to another compartment and sprawled out on the seats. When we got to Venice, it was very early in the morning, so we had to find our way to our hostel in the dark. But we made it there, only to find out that it was closed for another two hours (that's what happens during low season). So we wandered around, found a market to get a few ...

... do the tour for 80 euro. Yay!

We boarded the gondola and it was a beautiful night. It was just beginning to get dark and the atmosphere was great. It really did feel romantic even though there were four of us on board. He also took us to a few sights like Casablanca’s house and the Bridge of Sighs. Funnily we had already seen the Bridge of Sighs that day but hadn’t realized that was what it was!

We also discovered why the boys had taken so long to get the water ...

... stopped in a pack for a picnic lunch and then headed to the Rialto Bridge (where Ian's sunglasses plunged into the Grand Canal). From there we headed out to Lido ...

Wow, as soon as we stepped off the boat we all felt so relaxed, it has such a great atmosphere over there. We wandered over the the beach and Rachelle and I have a paddle and then went to sit down while Ian had a swim. On the way down to the beach we passed a bike hire place ...

... This was all done by about noon but we felt we had been sightseeing all morning because Venice is such an unusual place and even with our hotel map, we quite often didn't know where we were. The Grand Canal splits Venice into two parts, but the hundreds of little canals that branch off of it make walking to any one place a challenge because you can't go anywhere in a straight line. One inevitably comes upon a canal and must backtrack along maze ...

... Old Testament. We had to be back at the ship by 4:00 for a lifeboat drill, so we took a leisurely walk back through Venice to the Piazza Roma (the main transportation center and hub) and walked back over the causeway/railroad tracks to the ship. We then had tea in the Palm Court, did the lifeboat drill and dressed for dinner. The sail away from Venice featured music, complimentary champagne, Campari cocktail or Bellini We again went dancing after dinner.

... in system the better. Ditto for the hour and a quarter sitting around the tiny Stanstead terminal. Budget flights reach a new level - no boarding gate thingy, just up the stairs to a tiny tiny plane (Boeing 737- 800 for anyone who cares) which is kitted out in luminous yellow plastic and banner ads. The adverts over the PA system are particularly obnoxious. Treviso airport turns out to be even smaller than Stanstead, actually it's somewhat smaller then Ealing ...

... day. "The reality of the working gondolas laden with fruit and cases of aqua minerale, the construction barges piled with boards and sacks of concrete, the mind-stopping, stupendous, fairy-tale, solid beauty of the palazzi lining the canal and reflecting in the water. The beauty does not just pass before your eyes. It ravishes. I begin to feel the elation that a traveler experiences when in the presence of a place supremely itself. Heaven. Unbelievable."