Sirio Hotel Venice

... to the underground prison. Oh it was aweful.. I just imagined how people stayed there for years untill they died.. Yes, the Middle Ages where cruel...<br>By the way we were late for the airport already and we couldn't get out of that prison quickly))) There was an impression we were really imprisoned lol)<br>And finally we quitted the Doge's Palace, for the last time ran through the San Marco Square and soon were on our way to the airport..

... 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

Wed vap to Lido, walked down Viale St. Maria Elizabetta, had coffee, kids dressed as<br>San Martino (Nov 11), spoke with gardener about lavander, walked to Hotel Des<br>Bains and beach (capanas). Walked back down viale, vap past St. Mark's Sq. to<br>Accademia Bridge in Canal Grande. Walked to Ristorante da Raffaele GREAT.<br>Minestrone, risotto di radicchio rosso &amp; shrimps, roast ...

... off for now to plant backs and stuff by our door because the only way to lock it is to use the key which is an old time key skeleton key and if you lock it then you lock yourself in. Well if I need to get out in a hurry then what, so I decided to put our medicine bottles in front of the door and when someone opens it then they will fall on the bottles. Good one, huh?<br>Love to you all and goodnight.<br>Mick and Lisa

... right on a small canal. Very noisy and lots of people singing outside. We walked around a bit and had dinner. Luke had a mussel, clam, shrimp and calamari pizza, he was in heaven. They have a big concert stage set up in Piazza San Marco (paid entry) and there were tons of people there. <br><br>No pictures yet. We will see Venice tomorrow and the we take the overnight train to Vienna.<br>

... We were celebrating Father John's 75th birthday and allowed the waiter to bring us the house specialties. We ate outdoors in their small patio area and right before dessert, all the lights went out and the cake and candles arrived. <br><br>The younger generation wandered off to listen to the orchestras playing in the Piazza. What a spectacular day.<br>

... 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>

... dogs along, and the animals would be sitting patiently in the doorway waiting for their master or mistress to come back out. I fell in love with the coziness of it all. And in case you're wondering, there were no doggy messes left lying around to step in. We went back to the apartment, ate our light supper, and crashed about 10 pm. I had every intention of getting up this morning around my usual time, 6:30 or ...

... is something new, I mean old, and different. Some of the streets are so narrow that you'd have a difficult time getting a donkey through them. There are of course no donkeys in Venice. It's far too prosperous a city for the Venetians to keep burros. It's so ancient and storied though that there should be at least some donkeys, pigs and chickens just for atmosphere. Venice has reaped great financial reward through tourism. English is spoken ...

... advice to us was to simply get lost among the many small alleyways and to get off the beaten track. Matt then informed us that today was to be our lucky day as we would be witness to the flooding of the city. I've heard many stories of how Venice is sinking. So when there is an unusually high tide, the seawater comes right into the city causing floods. Before we were left to wander Venice, we were offered a demonstration in glass blowing. I believe everyone in the group went ...