We set off to see Piazza San Marco in the daylight, explored the basilica and the museums in the Square and also had lunch there.
We decided to do the Grand Canal next, so wandered down to the nearest vaporetto stop and bought 36-hour tickets. There was so much to see: boats of all kinds zipping to and fro; amazing buildings; cool bridges; cute Italian boys eyeing up Natasha!
We got off at Piazzale Roma and tried to find a particular laundrette mentioned in Lonely Planet, with the intention of memorising its location for when we have all our bags with us tomorrow. Having achieved that small success, we explored some of the byways in the vicinity (no highways in Venice!) and had afternoon tea in a nice wee cafe.
We eventually found the Grand Canal again, got a vaporetto to the giardini pubblici (which really weren't much to look at) and wandered back towards our hotel. On the way we stopped at a canal-side carnival, where, after much humming and hah-ing, three of us rode the dogem cars!
It has become a bit of a running gag, keeping track of the number of times Natasha exclaims "Ooh, I want one!" There are, of course, so many lovely things to buy in Venice, and this included the carnival where we counted at least 12 of them! So Natasha has been very restained, and is managing to avoid impulse purchases, instead waiting until she has seen a range of items in a range of shops before deciding.
Dinner this time was at a cafe where, the previous night we got gelati on the run. All was well until it came time to pay, and we discovered that they didn't take credit cards. A jog in the icy night air to the nearest bancomat in St Mark's Square and back rectified the situation!
The evening came to a relaxing end when we discovered that there was a performance of Puccini's Tosca on TV. Both the children fell asleep to the music, while the adults tried to follow the plot by listening to the Italian and reading the German subtitles!
A successful day, to be followed by a somewhat stressful one. Stay tuned...
Dinner this time was at a cafe where, the previous night we got gelati on the run. All was well until it came time to pay, and we discovered that they didn't take credit cards. A jog in the icy night air to the nearest bancomat in St Mark's Square and back rectified the situation!
The evening came to a relaxing end when we discovered that there was a performance of Puccini's Tosca on TV. Both the children fell asleep to the music, while the adults tried to follow the plot by listening to the Italian and reading the German subtitles!
A successful day, to be followed by a somewhat stressful one. Stay tuned...