Venice.

Well what can I say ? What a surprise that was.

I haven't flown in 32 years and my last experience going to Majorca with Gorden and friends in the 70's was being physically ill on the flight over and being zonked out with drugs on the way back. So I vowed never to fly again.

This time was very different apart from my head goes weird on take off I travelled well. I did get some tablets to take the edge off for my heads sake on the way back and it was fine.

Gorden had been planning this trip away for two weeks he went into London to get our passports renewed as they were out of date and said the staff in there had never seen antique passports before and were passing them round the office.
He has been so busy secretly sorting all this out so it fell on my birthday and worrying over the flying issue and that I had said a quiet break away from it all and no cities.

Now onto Venice it is amazing once out of the airport you get a bus or boat onto the island. We landed at sevenish 6pm in British Time so the boats from the airport to the island had stopped running so we had to bus then get one of the water buses they run all night as well as during the day on the island. It was dark when we got off at our stop and it took us about half an hour to find the guest house and I must admit I was geting a little worried that it even existed at one point. It did and we found it so the holiday started then 9.15pm Monday 21/3/2011.

We popped down to the local take away and had pizza, calzone and falafel for our supper with a bottle of 6.00 euro red very nice. Two bottles of wine in the room renewed every day if you drank any.

From then on we water bussed and walked the island just wandering down little back streets and through the local squares. This is why it was so hard to find the guest house all the little back allleys.

No trafffic on Venice everything done by boat.

It is a truly amazing place and Dogsey people would love it.
Very few dogs are walked on lead they are allowed to wander, they go on the boats to work with the delivery men and they run and sniff and greet people and nobody bats an eyelid at them if they bark at you they just shush them and laugh and carry on walking sometimes with little terrier types running round their heels noisily.

They all greet each other then move on to catch up with their people. Wonderful.

We did the Betty Gugglehiem musuem she was an artist and collector and she lived there, there were Magrite, Jason Pollock, Picasso amongst many others displayed there.

St Marks Square wow what an amazing place and so beautiful in the cathredral. Murano Island again wonderful especially the glass shops exsuisite glass work. We wandered round a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition about his genius works. Free they are held in the churches so you also get to see the beautiful buildings inside.

We didn't do a Gondola ride for only two of you they work out about 75 euros so we took the Traghetti across the water it is like a little ferry taxi, same as a gondola but not ornate and it only takes a few minutes and costs 5 cents half a euro. Bit scarey epsecially when you get a very large man board.

One lunchtime when it was really sunny we were sitting having lunch on the water front and decided when finished to get the Traghetti back we had to wait as there were a lot of young school children boarding on the other side and no adult chaperone they had come across to the side we were waiitng first with another bunch. You can imagine we were surpised especially Gorden being an x Teacher but that is what life is like there so laid back the children run up and down near the water ride their little scooters and bikes then have to pick them up and carry them over the bridges some of the bikes are nearly as big as the little children.

It is like stepping back in time. We finished off Thursday night going to see a concert what better way than to be in Venice and go to listen to an Italian 7 piece orchestra play Vivaldi and the four seasons there were some other pieces too but to be honest I cannot remember them. Gorden is the one who is the classical music buff once having been in the Esesex Youth Orchestra playing French Horn. I did enjoy it surprisingly and I felt after giving me such a wonderful holiday and the thought and hard work behind it he needed some spoiling too.

We did so much in the 3 days we had there. Whether we will go back we are not sure it is not cheap so it may be one of those once in a life time holidays. But what an experience to have the privilege to be able to go at least once in a life time. If you ever get the chance to visit do you will not be dissapointed.

Now for the photos I promise there are not 400.





















These balloons are glass.






Water bus.






Tragehtti/ferry.










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I hope I haven't bored you with all the photos. This may help you to capture what a beautiful calm place it is even in the hustle and bustle of every day life there.

What a star Gordon is

It looks wonderful, Im so glad you had a wonderful Birthday and enjoyed yourselves. the pic's are great xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Welcome home

Great photos. Thanks for sharing.

Your Gorden is just one in a million, wow what a lovely birthday surprise and just at a time you really needed it too. It will certainly be a birthday to remember.
The pics are wonderful but I always wonder how the building are not all wet and damp inside with water lapping round the wall constantly.

Thanks all the pictures don't really do it justice to be honest.

Bev the foundations are really thick they tend to be a mix of cement and big rocky stones that the water laps round then the bricks start just above that. They do get wet though as it does flood. They do not live on the ground floors they are hallways and basements they start their living accomodation on the 1st floors and upwards.

Wow! All looks wonderful....your man did good!!

Looks a fantastic place. Brilliant photos you have really captured it - It is on my places to go list ...maybe 1 day

It looks and sounds wonderful Lynn, I'm so glad you both had such a nice time, you both really deserved it xxx

What a lovely surprise., Venice is delightful there is nowhere quite like it.

Glad you enjoyed yourself..

Lovely pictures, pleased you both had a fab time xxx