Exploring Venice

Every where in Venice is rich history and local fellows willing to get your tourist Euro. That said, the typical local is friendly. Prices in Venice are more expensive than Basel. A glass (typical kitchen variety 100 ml) of Fanta will cost you 2-3 euros (Au $5-6). Everywhere someone is willing to sell you something whether you want it or not. We can home this evening with 5 roses and 10 euros less in the pocket. The deal was done so fast my head is still spinning. Not sure what we will do with 5 roses!! Travel by boat is expensive, 26 Euro per ride for the 4 of us. (Europeans generally earn about 2500-3000 euros per month Au$5-6000 so we are at a disadvantage, but cost of living is more expensive.)

The food is very nice. Pastry goods are worth every euro. Pizza was divine but was different in the crust. The crust was crispy and tasty. The coffee is heavenly.

Glassware is beautiful and expensive. We were very lucky today as we were Invited to a glass blowing factory on the island of Murano to see
Glass being blown. We where given a free water taxi ride to the factory, where we saw a horse and bottle being made. Very interesting. We were given a private tour of the factory gallery. The glassware we saw was very unique and beautiful beyond compare. Stunning! We purchased some items... Ouch! We learnt it takes 20 years to master glass blowing.

Venice during winter floods every 6-8 hours. A siren sounds, and depending on the tone tells you the height. The flood tide rises very quickly, in the space of time it took us to get our coats, the water had rose up to our ankles. Locals wear glum-boots. We saw beautifully dressed women (and brides) wearing gum-boots. The tides last 2-3 hours.

Venice is grand place, rich with history. Everywhere is buildings 4-5 times older than modern Australia. The alleyways and lanes are narrow and ancient looking. The palaces are huge and extensively decorated in stone work, art, and gold. It gives you a buzz just walking to the supermarket. It is obivous that Venice was once centre of European trade from the 10th to 16th century. It is equally obivous that it is now a museum city in decline. Certainly Venice's buildings show their age but there is a fair bit of restoration work ongoing.