We enjoyed exploring Venice and its many tiny passageways, crossing many bridges and seeing many beautiful canals, coming across many dead ends and at times getting lost. It was nice not to think about getting hit by a car or a motorcycle, humans transport supplies through the narrow passageway on carts that they could be manipulated up and down the stairs. We were catching up on our laundry after not having laundry at a few places and followed the traditional Venetian way of drying clothes on a clothesline above the canal (this scared Sophie given the limited amount of clothing we are all carrying in our backpacks). Sophie and I attended a Vivaldi’s Four-Season Classical music concert, where the orchestra and staff wore traditional clothing from his Era.
We enjoyed the traditional gondola ride seeing the beautiful sites from the water and learning facts about the city from our enthusiastic gondolier. Alastair was disappointed there was no good skiing at the end of the gondola, ha-ha he checks the Fernie snowfall regularly! The Basilica Saint Marco was breathtaking, with its gold mosaic and beautiful tiling. It was very interesting to learn about the architecture of Venice given that it is all built on stilts made from wood transported from Croatia. We had fantastic walks throughout the city and particularly enjoyed the area close to our Airbnb where Venetians live. It was not too crowded with tourist, high-end stores and souvenir stops, but still only a 15min walk to most sites. We are often doing a fair bit of self-catering, but we did enjoy our final Italian dinner out with tiramisu for dessert! Our early morning departure (on a bus destine for Croatia) gave us unique views of the city.
