27.-29.07.2007

We drove from Nice to Venice and arrived around lunch time. On the way we stopped at a road house and unlike in Australian roadhouses, this one was on cliff above Monte Carlo with great views. And we were in a cloud which was cool. Venice was fairly easy to park in, as soon as you cross the long brige over the sea to the island there are several large multi level carparks. We left our car there and caught a water taxi to our hotel. It was a nice introduction to Venice as we got a tour of all the little canals as well as the Grand Canal. However the ride was not cheap, but in Venice everything is extremely expensive. We decided we wouldn’t take a gondola ride during our stay as they were all 150 euro, that’s more than 230 AUD. Our accommodation was excellent and it was just near the Rialto bridge so it was well situated too. The first night we had pizza for tea and then strolled to St Marco’s Piazza. It is really stunning. I’ve seen it in pictures a lot but none of it really compares. The night atmosphere was great, all the bars have classical and jazz music playing outside (and if you sit down for a drink you have to pay for the privilege of the music as well! We had the most expensive drink of the trip there thanks to all the add ons, ie music, service, seat, they charge for everything). At midnight the bells start, first one church for a few minutes, then the tower etc. It was really nice.

The second day in Venice we followed a route that our hotel guy suggested and covered a lot of ground visiting different churches etc. It was insanely hot and there is no beach to go swim in so it was a bit tiring. Also the thousands of tourists you have to climb over are a bother, we have never seen so many people in a tiny place before. The whole city is beautiful and one or two days are definitely enough, as once you’ve seen everything, the only thing left to do is eating and drinking. We had a nap after walking all day in the heat and then headed out for tea and we went to a performance of baroque music and opera arias. That was definitely a memorable evening. Both the orchestra and the singers were very good and the building it was set in definitely added to the atmosphere.