Hotel Le Boulevard Venice

... any inaccuracies contained in my overly short summary of the storyline). If you have read this far, thanks! I may be pregnant and hormonal (yes, I just admitted to it), and a bit of a romanticist to begin with, but seeing this particular opera of love and loss, in this particularly intimate manner, really affected me, and was a complete highlight for me of our entire trip so far (yes, Murray enjoyed it, too – but perhaps wasn’t quite as moved by it as I ...

... throughout the world, and the island still contains numerous glass-making factories (look for the “furnace,” or “furnace” signs) where you can see glass-making and glass-blowing demonstrations.

Murray and I spent a few hours walking around Murano, and I remembered a few things from when I went there with my parents as a kid. The island has a lot of charm, filled with tiny inner-city canals, great Venetian architecture ...

... already see the Rialto market was flooded and our dock looked like it was under 2-3 feet of water. Several boats went speeding by into side canals and there was something of an air of a snow day. As it got lighter, I decided I needed to be part of the fun like a little kid waiting to get out in the blizzard and play. No rain, just cloudy and flooded. I put on my cute mid-calf Ugg wellies thinking I'd be fine and I was for about 2 blocks. The ground floor of the ...

... Venice - Ferrara - Ravenna - San Marino
Oct 12: San Marino - San Leo - Urbino
Oct 13: Perugia - Assisi - Cortona
Oct 14: Siena - Bologna - Vicenza
Oct 15: Venice

On a previous trip to Europe we were advised to purchase the duty free at the connecting location. We discovered that once you are in the European Union countries, the duty free price would only apply if you are travelling to an International ...

... Grande in the Gondola. One lady in ours burst out into a loud, mournful song about leaving her homeland, Lebanon, so many years before. She was a real character. Once again the history of the place fascinated us, as did going through the Palace and Administrative Centre. The highlight was the boat ride up the river on the last night. It was spectacular.

John

Venice was - well just like I expected ...

... Renaissance, it had been one of the richest cities in the world. Perfectly located as a bridge between east and west, this port had once been among the busiest in the world, dominating sea trade in a way made possible by its precise location. Moreover, its early government was formed not by politicians, but instead by its wealthiest and most successful traders and merchants. In a way, this notion helped contribute to the city's wealth and prosperous sea trade ...

... people-watching was great and the basilica is lovely at night. St. Mark's began to flood, and it was interesting to watch all the water from the icky canals surge into the streets.
We could tell it was high season compared to our original visit in late March. The streets were more crowded and I had no idea they could shove that many people on a vaporetto boat. Overall, it is such a unique city, and a lovely place to just wander the quiet back streets. Off ...

... and absolutely delish. Before leaving we also ordered a drink at the bar which we saw everyone ordering all night called a Venetian spritz(er?) that is white wine, aperol, and seltzer. It smelled like jello and tasted like grapefruit. It was good! On our way home I got us hopelessly lost and we were walking around in circles for a good amount of time. The only good thing was ...

... to a glass blowing demonstration, lace making demonstration, then E and I went to look for pizza for lunch. It was amazing weaving thru the ally's. There's no way I could find my way around this place with a map. You just have to wander. There are many hand made signs on the corners of buildings telling you where the big monuments ...

... octopus that just melted in your mouth. Our primi was a ravioli dish with seafood and a tagliatelle, both wonderfully done. Our main entrees consisted of a seared Tuna steak and beautiful scampis. Again, the preparation was not fussy, but the seafood was so wonderfully fresh that it was like tasting the ocean. Reservations are a must for this tiny restaurant that has about seven tables. The owner and servers were friendly, efficient and spoke excellent English. Day 3 was a day for ...