Hotel Iris Malcesine

... brought a lot of goods for the first time to Europe from the East.<br><br>But we did manage to visit the Doge's Palace which was really great. <br><br>Doge&#8217;s palace is located on the same San Marco square, and San Marco church was Doge&#8217;s private capella. <br>So we entered the palace and found ourselves in a big yard. There we could see the San Marco church from inside, it was not as gorgeous as from outside but still ...

... to sing Happy Birthday to him. He is gone from our world now and we miss him. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday deaaaarrrrr John and Grandpaaaaaaa, Haaappppyyyy Birrrtttthhhdaaay ttoooo yooooouuuuu!!<br>Love<br>Mick and Lisa<br>XXXX<br>OOO

... lemon veal<br>(VERY modern bathroom). Walked past shops in via 22 Marzo to La Fenice Opera<br>House, Bacino Orseolo with lots of gondolas parked, St Mark's Sq, all the way<br>to Santa Maria Formosa where Guido grew up in Calle del Paradiso (very old).<br>Ice cream in San Lio. Walked to Rialto &amp; took vap to San Marcuola to<br>S&amp;Gs. Rested &amp; ate dinner at Pontini's ...

... fell down the steps over one of the small canals and this one was the other knee. This time a woman ran up to help and Mick was telling her no, no, she's O.K., I was a cripple or something. Wow, I am not sure what is going on with me, but I was trying to zip up my coat and the stairs moved. Really though they are kind of deeper than regular stairs or something anyway that is why you will see a pic of now both my ...

... over 5 miles. <br>A lot of people told us we'd visit Venice regularly over the next few years while we are stationed in Aviano....and I think they might be right. Venice is an enchanting place, and the food is pretty darn good as well.<br>Allen and I are hopeless romantics, so this place seems to suite us well. ;)<br>

... his masks, a magical Sun, after stumbling on his tiny shop at the foot of the Rialto Bridge on the San Polo side. The mask was the focal point of the wall in my living room in Los Angeles for many years (where it probably still hangs unless my ex-husband has finally decided to redesign the room:). To me, Sergio is a gatekeeper. He can open the door and offer a peek into a certain level of ...

... to ride in a Gondola. After our boat ride, we decided to tour the back streets behind St. Mark's Square and had a ball just seeing what we would run into along the way (meaning shops, gelato stores and more shops!) The back streets go on for miles and miles, so we decided only to go so far and then head back to the hotel. Had a very simple meal of on our way back to the hotel. I wish I could figure out how they make their pasta so ...

... on, walking down dimly lit alleyways past a few locals talking quietly and probably wondering how I'd gotten so far away from the tourist areas. Eventually, I made it back to the populated regions, and found a small café to stop and get a sandwich. I sat there and listened to the street performers. There's so many street performers here. Some of them just put on costumes and stand there for people to take pictures. Others ...

... make up a sightseeing itinerary from, but obviously what makes Venice like no other is being able to wander along its narrow streets, free from any roads, with miles of canals. The star of the show is St. Marks' Square (see below), but unless you've got deep pockets, don't even think about stopping at the café's in the square; take a walk round the corner and save a fortune! St Mark's Square Built in the 10th Century ...

... being able to eat!). It was also pretty cool when we were on the beach and Jake picked up a crab that was carrying a baby crab! A few of us spend our evenings chatting on the roof of our residence. It is like a hostel but very different. I hope to describe it better later, but our rooms are awesome, and the roof is quite nifty. Last night Professor Harvey, Marianne, Oana, Ben, and I were up there for over 2 hours. We had little else to do before bed. It is significantly cooler up there too.