Hey there everybody! July 13th we spent in Venezia, Italy. Going into the city and seeing all the waterways and how everything was built up amazed me. I have to read about the history. The city is old, and there's people everywhere. We got a Tourist pass so we could ride the busses and the boats all day long. It was really nice to be able to hop on and hop off a boat anytime we wanted. It was also very confusing. Definitely another tourist destination there was a charge for everything. At one point I saw a bathroom was 1.5 Euros. Maps were 3 Euros. It was free to go into the churches but you could not wear shorts or short skirts. We were out on both counts. What surprises me about Venice is that there is graffiti everywhere. Why do people think that it's ok to write on old city walls? Or any public walls for that matter? Especially graffiti that is just plain ugly. There were gondola rides on every corner. On one of the boats we met a couple from Tennessee and they said the two things to see were the Rialto Bridge and the San Marino Piazza so we at least had some sort of goal in mind. And off we went walking and riding through the cities. 

At the end of the day we ate a little Italian Restaurant a few streets off the canal. Tony had a pizza and I had a calzone. Of course we took pictures of chocolate and dessert shops, gelato, and other sweets. At this point I'm really tired and my feet are paying the price of all that walking. I'm happing to be seeing the sights but looking for a seat or a rest throughout the day. Funny thing about benches,. There are not many and there are signs that say please do not sit on the steps. Also in short supply are trash cans. We found both in a little square and saw a plethora of those on the Lido stop where it looked like there was a large park. 

It's lovely being in Italy, the home of my great grandparents. They were from Calabria, a mere 11 or 12 hours away. I won't get there and that's ok. I can say I"ve been in Italy and that's enough for now.

Onto a few pictures.

It stormed on the way from the last boat back to our hotel. There was an amazing sky. The picture doesn't do it justice. Beauty is all around us if we just take the time to see it. There was a rainbow behind us. Once we got to the hotel we had coffee and split a dessert. Panna cotta with fruit.

Tomorrow we are on our way to Liechtenstein.