Last blog until Cinque Terra

Venice has been so much fun. Out tour director is a kick in the pants…we have had a great time because of her. Yesterday we went to Buano island by private boat….down the grand canal and across the lagoon. We arrived at this amazing little island…no crime, no drugs, and you can only get there by boat. There are 4 hotels and a spattering of restaurants …and they make lace. We had lunch at this wonderful place. Here was the meal…for lunch if you can believe it…carafe’s of wine…and water…YES MATT…the water with gas is amazing….then risotta, cooked for 4hours with shrimp…then pasta with marinara and clams, then 3 fresh fishes, not sure what but they were amazing…then big bowls of fresh fruit with almond brittle and these little hard cookies that you dip in your wine….sooooo gooood…..THEN a cappachino and last but not least a shot of amerreto….SERIOUSLY, I doubt I can get into my pants. We had the night on our own so wandered around looking at the 10 million identical shops. This morning we had a private boat again which took us to the fish market and a walking tour of the back streets of Venice where the Venitians live…this was fascinating. Everything arrives here by boat…no cars or trucks can get here as it is all canals and bridges. It was a fascinating look at a different lifestyle. Then we had our gondola ride thru the smaller canals …with champagne at noon….eye…eye…eye….can’t believe all of this. It was so much fun. We had 4 gondolas and everytime one of us popped the cork on the champagne, everyone yelled CHINK CHINK…and all the pedestrians stopped and took pictures of us and waved at us…it was hilarious. The pics I have included are of the view from our room…on the gondola ride, and the view of Venice from the Bell Tower in St Marks Square. You really have to go up to realize where you are at. If it wasn’t for all the thousands of tourists…this would be a really peaceful place to visit. Our hotel has venetian glass chandeliers hanging everywhere…they are not my thing, but they are beautiful if you like big GODY chunks of glass. Oh and this hotel has the room price posted in the room as 800 Euros…that’s $1200…this room is about a 120 in Bellingham, minus the view of course.
Tonight we have a farewell dinner in a local restaurant. Lida has already helped us buy our train tickets to Cinque Terra, so that is a relief. We will leave here around 830 tomorrow morning. IT will actually be a little sad to leave all the new friends we have made in this tour. But we are really looking forward to some relaxing beach time at our next destination…pictures to follow.
Arrevedercia…..