We got up early and accidentally went to the wrong breakfast area and ate leftovers from a previous group. Woops/ewww.
It was cold and rainy today, so everyone rugged up, and we made our way to the tram to head into the main part of Venice. After 15 minutes we arrived! It was just as I imagined. Little bridges were arched over narrow canals, gondolas were docked next to tall, colorful buildings and men raced around with trolleys shouting 'Attenzione, attenzione!'.We had a guided tour (in the rain) which wasn't ideal but we learnt all the history of Venice. We walked over the Bridge of Fists. It has five small footprints on it. Apparently men would go there to have organised fist fights and try to push their opponents into the canals. It got banned after men started bringing knives to the fights!
We made our way to San Marcos square where we walked into the most beautiful lace store. We sat down and had a demonstration on how they make lace. I bought my family this Christmas tablecloth which would take 5 months to carefully hand make. Surprisingly it only cost 50 Euros. The government subsidies lace makers to keep the tradition going.
After the lace demonstration we walked over to the gondolas where we had our very own 30 minute gondola ride! It was perfect, the rain stopped and the sun came out. It went through the Grand Canal and down little narrow streets with towering buildings. It was absolutely gorgeous and something I won't forget. Next stop was lunch. We all had our own pizzas which we devoured, then spent the rest of the day getting lost in the streets of Venice. One thing to remember is that you can't follow a map in Venice. The streets twist and turn and it's impossible to know where you are. If you need directions, follow the signs and you should be ok.We went to the Accademia gallery and onto a super posh hotel where we heartily ate cake and coffee while being served by Italian men in white suits. That night, instead of going out to dinner we went to the supermarket, picked up a few rolls and had a TV dinner. Day well spent in my opinion!
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