One more picture

Here we are at Rossa Rossa Restaurant  on our last night in Venice

Our last day in Venice

Our time in Venice has been truly spectacular! We were able to get out of the crowds around St Mark's Square and explore the heart of Venice.  Last night we met our fellow group members at a cocktail reception and dinner at the hotel.  We met some really nice people and we have many more to meet as the week progresses. We had an absolutely delicious dinner of fish and veal and I have 

finally decided to just enjoy the food for the next week and stop obsessing about calories! Have I mentioned that we have already been enjoying the gelato in Venice? We had our first guided trip with Tauck's Tour this morning and they broke us up into small groups as we toured the Doge's' Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Our guide was lovely and so knowledgeable. After the tour we all were treated to a gondola ride through many side streets and the Grand Canal. We were on our own for the rest of the day and Bob and I had a light lunch and did a little shopping for some souvenirs. After a little siesta we ventured out for some more sightseeing and shopping and had our final dinner at Rossa Rossa (Johhny Depp's favorite restaurant) for a truly delicious meal. It was a quiet, family run restaurant with fantastic food! A perfect way to end our stay. We finished off the evening with coffee in our hotel lounge and now we are packing to get ready for our excursion to tomorrow to the islands of Murano and and Burano before boarding our ship in the afternoon. Below are some final shots of our time in Venice.

The Bridge of Sighs, Venice's oldest bridge. We were able to walk inside the bridge when we toured the Doge's' Palace.

marble staircase in the Doges' Palace

Clock in Doges' Palace

Courtyard of Doges' Palace

gondola ride

Doges' Palace

On the gondola

Bridge of Sighs in the background

The bell tower in St. Mark's Square

A Lovely Gondola Ride

This morning began with a wonderful buffet breakfast on the hotel's rooftop restaurant, which gave us beautiful views of two neighboring islands.  The weather was warm and  balmy but rains were predicted for later in the day. As we relaxed and ate we watched a huge cruise ship being towed into the lagoon. It was distressing to see such a gargantuan ship enter the serene lagoon. I hadn't realized until we arrived here that such large ships were allowed to come so near to Venice.

Around 9:00 we meandered through St. Mark's Square and took a leisurely stroll past very high end shops on our way to meet our guide and take a gondola ride on the canals.  We met Alessandro just before 10:00 and we commenced a lovely private gondola ride through the canals of Venice. As we viewed the sights, Alessandro gave us the history of Venice and many of the buildings. It was a perfect day for the ride because it was Sunday and there was a lot less traffic on the Grand Canal.  After the ride we walked across the Academia Bridge into the Dorsodro quarter.  We visited the Galleria dell'Academia and viewed  the spectacular Renassance art of such Venetian masters as Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto, and Veneziano. After the museum we stopped at a small restaurant for a light lunch. While having lunch it started to rain but lightly. We walked back to the hotel while dodging the raindrops.  We meet our tour group and guides this evening at a reception and dinner in our hotel.  Our official tour begins tomorrow.

Below are scenes from our gondola ride this morning:

A beautiful Day in Venezia!

Last night we walked to the famous Rialto Bridge and ate at a charming restaurant to the right of the bridge. We dined outside and had a great view of the Grand Canal. We enjoyed a plate of cheeses followed by delicious sea bass and a glass of wine. One thing I love about dining in Italy, or other European countries, is that no one rushes you and one could sit at the table forever. It was a great evening for people watching. We strolled back to our hotel and fell into bed pleasantly exhausted from such a long day.

This morning we were up at six in order to meet our guide Eva, a professional photographer, for another private tour.  We spent the next four hours roaming the neighborhoods of Venice while she gave us camera lessons and pointed out interesting scenes to shoot.  I learned so much about photography as well as the history of Venice and its quarters or "siestres." Venice is quite different in the early morning.  No one is out and about yet and , of course, no tourists yet from the cruise ships! It was blissful. After our tour Eva dropped us off near the bustling Rialto fish market and we had lunch at a nearby restaurant - margueriita pizza and a glass of wine. Life is good! Our hotel is next to the famous Piazza San Marco where all of the tourists throng; by the time we arrived back at our hotel, the area was packed with tourists!  Right now we are resting in our lovely room before we head out later for more sightseeing and dinner. Ciao for now.  Pictures from this morning are below.

We've Arrived in Venice!

What a day! We were up at 4 Thursday morning to get a ride to LAX. Once we arrived at the airport it took us almost a half an hour to get to our terminal which was way at the other end of the loop. I am not a big fan of that airport. We flew to Philadelphia and because our flight was late in taking off and it had to wait to land in Philadelphia, we barely made our connection. We arrived in Venice at 9:05 am  today, Friday. We had a fun ride in a water taxi from the airport to the hotel. Unfortunately our room wasn't ready until 2:00 this afternoon so we walked around St.Marcos Square and then relaxed in the beautiful lobby of the hotel.  Our hotel is right next to the square and it was mobbed with tourists! At 2:30 we met our guide for a private walking tour of the real Venice away from the crowds. It was a wonderful tour and we learned so much about the history of Venice. Right now we are relaxing in our before we go out to dinner. Poor Bob's routine is disturbed by having to eat late.  He's taking it well, though.

Water taxis at the airport

Riding down the Grand Canal in the taxi