Ca' Delle Acque Venice

... steps to the top) and the Piazza del Signoria, a great, bustling pedestrians-only town square. We grabbed a gelato and took a short people-watching break before continuing on to Ponte Vecchio and finally, the day’s climax- the Uffizi Gallery.

The Uffizi has been described as the greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere! But it is so much more. It is laid out in a way that walks you through the transition of style, content and technique from the ...

... She wonders where the money went.
OK: now we are driving in Italian traffic. These people drive as if they have nothing to live for. And, yet, we have not seen a single accident. Regardless, driving is nerve-wracking. But we made it safely to Padua, where we visited the Scrovengi Chapel, painted in frescos by Giotto in the early 14th century. It was commissioned by a man whose father was a very bad ...

Blog Day 5 (Venice 2), Wednesday, December 9
We rose well-rested and after enjoying the hotel’s breakfast buffet, set off for St. Mark’s Square, where we spent most of our day. With the national holiday crowds dispersed, it finally paid off to be here in the off season! There were no lines for the Basillica or any of the “extra” (“for a small fee”) attractions on the square. It is no longer allowed to feed the pigeons, with the positive result ...

... gave up on the sun ever coming up around seven and took off. The days here are extremely short: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tops.
Our hotel here is amazing: they were happy to check us in at 7:30 a.m. and could not have been more accommodating. We slept a couple of hours and hit the streets - no, canals - around eleven. Our hotel recommended a restaurant where we had by far the best meal we have had in Italy before starting our sightseeing day’ ...

... 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 ...

... a sigh of relief! The water, the boats, just everything was just incredible!
I found my hostel within minutes which is a relief, as I had thought I was lost, but I found a bed, and the mattress looks like it may be hard to get out of bed in the morning! Ikea bunks and mattress to boot!
I was given a map, and I started on my jouney, planning to sick close by but that got fobbed when I got lost!
I'm standing to the side of a bridge listening to my tunes ...

... the next morning, and just ended up walking all around Venice. Amanda and John suggested that's what we do, and it was a great suggestion. We ran across a few really interesting things, such as a fish market (which smelled and looked gross, but made for some neat pictures and people watching), a really talented classical guitarist, etc... We just did things at a leisurely pace... stopping to sit in the park, going into shops that intrigued us ...

... But from the outside, there was just one window for the two floors making it look like only one floor existed. Same thing for the floor above. They made it look like attic windows, but really it was the archive room that was very large. There's really no surprise that I enjoyed this secrets tour so much considering that is exactly the kind of work I'm hoping to get into! After the tour, we explored the rest of the ...

... to pet (with their owners' permission) were polite, but distant. So I just gave up trying to make friends with any of them! Walking past some outdoor tables the other day, we spied a chunky yellow Lab acting just like OUR chunky yellow Lab, Rosie... instead of laying under the table snoozing like all the other dogs we've seen, she was sitting next to the chair and drooling in her mistress' lap. Must be a Lab thing... **Another "it's a small world" moment today ...

Today we packed up our bags and took them to the train station lockers and purchased a day ticket on the public boats to cruise the canals of Venice. We first walked the back lane ways to the Fire Station and had a very nice visit inside where Robert had a lovely conversation with a Venice fireman. Then we walked more of the lane ways were there numerous little shops with many fascinating and beautiful and expensive wares. We then went on a ...