Feels like Home

If you read a lot, nothing is as great as you imagined.
Venice is - Venice is better! 

--Fran Lebowitz

You can take the girl out of Newfoundland BUT you can't take Newfoundland out of the girl!  Venice today was cold....damp....and yes you guessed it....foggy!  I thought I had gone through some sort of warp and woke up in Newfoundland!  We were right at home if a little chilled.  So we were off on foot to tour this beautiful place, smell the sea air and explore, explore, explore!  We wandered down alleys, admired the gondolas in the canals and the drivers in costume, window shopped, ate gelato and went on a boat tour.  The day was jammed packed.

Edmund felt right at home as well as he bargained in the market.  The poor vendor was determined to get full price, Edmund however was not about to budge...end result I got a lovely bag for carrying things at a fraction of the cost.   The vendor had to move on the price or he would have made no sale!  Edmund was happy, he still has the bargaining edge!

From the weather, to the seafood, to the multi-coloured houses and boats it all seemed so familiar despite the fact that it is separated by so many miles.  So less writing tonight and a few more pictures for you to enjoy. 

The Gondolas -- ready for their passangers

The roadway

Again more houses and canals

A little traffic jam happening on the canals

Boats in the canal

St. Marks Cathedral in the Square

view of Venice from the water

St. Giorgio on the Isle of St. Giorgio Maggiore

foggy views of Venice from on the water

Murano Island, the first stop on our tour.  Known for its glass blowing

Ovens are fired up and the artisans at work 

making amazing things with the glass

The boat garage

This marks the waterway for the boats.  

Yes there are lights to mark them at night and speed limits!

A Monastery on an Island alone

Burano Island, known for the lace work 

and the colourful houses.  

More of Burano

Pont de Diablo on the island of Torcello

Standing on said bridge with the oldest church in Europe in the background

Burano again 

One of the canals on Burano, all the boats are tied up! 

Again a canal of Burano

the church on Burano Island, note how the tower is leaning

The fog rolled in heavy as we headed back to shore from the tour.  A lovely walk back, our way found with the help of store windows (an orange coat here, blue shoes there, Hand bag sell on another corner) and we were back at the hotel no problem!  And like the quote says -- books are wonderful but Venice really is better than you can imagine and no book can ever describe it adequately!