While I was gone, Dan had bushes pulled out, a tree cut, an old fence torn down and our banana trees dug out.  Now we have some landscaping decisions to make.

I also thought you might like to see some of the things I brought home with me from Italy.  I brought a selection of scarves…pashminas, silk, wool.  Of course, beads and some jewelry.  An Italian leather purse, an Italian cashmere sweater, and some Carlo Dono bead tools (not pictured), sold only in Italy.  It doesn’t look like a lot, but it managed to fill up my suitcase.

There are so many interesting things in Venice.  There are small shops that sell original clothing designs, shops that pop up near the markets…that’s how I got my sweater.  Pashmina scarves can be bought for 5 or 6 euros each and in every design and color combination you can imagine.  There are art galleries, print studios, museums, and street markets.  They all offer inspiration and ideas for those of us who love creating.  Venice gave me a lot to think about.  It will be fun to see how I interpret Venice when I go out to the studio to make beads!

We got off the traghetto at the busy San Marco square area.  We had seen the high water or aqua alta before.  Or at least we thought we had.  Today, the rain and the crowds necessitated quite a round -a- bout route to get where we wanted to go.  Shops were closed and shop owners were putting up their metal barriers to prevent water from coming in.  We saw one gelatto shop, open for business, but with about 6 inches of water standing in it.  Needless to say, they didn’t have any customers.

I can’t imagine dealing with this as a business owner.  

We’ve had a wonderful trip.  I tend to think that things happen for a reason.  Today’s rain was probably to make it a little easier for us to say good bye to Venice.  One of the things I learned today on our boat trip is that the statue on top of the San Simeone Piccolo church, St. Simeon, waves ciao to whoever enters or leaves the city.  We say ciao Venice!  Thanks for welcoming us on such a wonderful adventure!

We continued walking and found the gondola workshop where the boats are repaired.  The workshop is in a structure that looks a little different from most Venice buildings.  Although no one was working today, it was interesting to see.

The final thing we stumbled upon was a marathon.  There were lots of runners and lots of spectators.

Then, it was back to the apartment to relax and fix dinner.  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day here.  We’ll be taking our last ride on the Grand Canal, having our last morning cappuccino, eating up everything out of the refrigerator, and trying to figure out a way to get everything home!

We have had a wonderful trip!  Venice has welcomed us, educated us and inspired us.  I hope you have an opportunity to visit Venice.  I don’t believe there is any place like it in the world.  Tune in for what we do on our last day!

Today, one of our “want to dos” was to ride a traghetto.  Gondola rides are very expensive.  We decided we’d rather spend our money on other things.   A traghetto ride is a gondola ride across the Grande Canal.  It takes about 5 minutes, but only costs 1e each.  We were quite happy with that bargain as opposed to the 80e or so it would have cost for a gondola ride.

I took one of my favorite pictures of Venice from the water level view of the traghetto.  I think it’s probably every bit as much fun to watch the people taking the gondola rides as it is to take them yourself.  Wave at them from the bridges as they pass under. 

The major reason Nancy and I came to Venice was for inspiration and ideas when we are making our beads and jewelry.  I haven’t really shown you many pictures of the artsy things we’ve seen here.  So, I thought I’d give you a taste of what you might see in Venice!

It’s not unusual to see students carrying canvases, portfolios and other art projects.  This was a group just outside our square.  We met another woman on our way to Burano who had her paints with her and was travelling with an artist’s group.

Murano glass is one of the major industries here.  I thought you might like to see some.

Murrini (the small slices of glass rods) are surrounded by a gilded frame.  You see a lot of gilding here, so it makes sense that you see shops where it’s done.  Another of those “only in Venice” experiences.

The art and creativity here are amazing!  We’ve seen art in drawing, painting and printmaking, leather, gilding, glass, mask making, costuming, marbleized paper, mosaics, ceramics, and others I just can’t remember right now.  When I get home and remember all that I’ve seen, I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about Venice and it’s artists.

We’re starting the countdown…finishing up food, figuring out what clothes are clean and trying to fit everything into our suitcases.  Two more days to absorb Venice!

Evenings call for Italian wine before dinner.  The first bottle we bought was good, and we’ve continued to buy it ever since.  I would have liked to have taken more pictures in the grocery, but was asked to stop!  Hope you enjoy seeing photos of good food!  By the way, last night we had fresh salmon again along with cooked, fresh spinach and bakery bread.  It was as good or better than any restaurant meal.  We bought a plastic grocery bag of fresh spinach for 2e.  Two reasonable priced salmon “steaks” were 4e.  By the way, if you need a grocery bag, you buy it.  We’re relaxing this morning and trying to get things a little more organized before we leave.  This is a major recycle day, so we need to get things sorted and set out this morning.  It’s also time to see what fits in the suitcase and how heavy it will be.  We need to cart it over 3 or 4 bridges in order to get to the bus that will take us to the airport on Tuesday morning.  We are also hearing rain on Tuesday!  Hopefully it holds off till we’re under cover!  Have a great day!

This is Burano from our boat.  You might notice the crooked church steeple.  I understand it stands at the same angle as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  As the boat gets closer, you can begin to see the colorful houses.  The story is that each house was painted a different, bright color, so that when the fishermen came home late at night they would be sure to get into the right bed.

Burano is small, charming and quaint.  There aren’t the tourist crowds there that you might see in some parts of Venice.  It’s laid back.  They do have lots of lace for sale there, but much of it is from China.  I found a couple of non-lace items to bring home.  But for me, the pull of Burano are the bright buildings.  I found myself smiling as we walked down the streets.

We ended our day for a last visit to Murano.  I know I haven’t really talked about Murano much, but it is probably my favorite place to go.  I think once I get home, I’ll have to take pictures of all the things I’m taking back with me…then, you’ll hear about Murano.

Tomorrow, our first job is to get to the grocery store.  I’m hoping to take pictures because it is interesting and quite unlike the stores we have in the U.S.

I thought maybe I’d share some observations.  Nearly 100% of the shutters on the buildings are either green or brown.  I haven’t seen one single family dwelling here.  There are a few on Murano, but for the most part, everyone lives in apartments.

We’ve noticed when we go to the coffee shop in the morning that no one reads a book or newspaper, people talk and visit with one another.

People seem to enjoy nice clothes here.  We’ve enjoyed people watching and have noticed the lovely wool coats and sweaters as well as the unique designs.  I makes me want to dump my jeans and go buy something.  I suspect, however, that Venetians have fewer clothes, but what they have are stylish and of good quality.

We’ve had fun going to the grocery.  Eggs sit on a regular shelf…they are not refrigerated.  Eggs are sold by the half dozen.  Most wines are as cheap or cheaper than milk.  Soft drinks or sodas are very expensive both in a restaurant and a grocers.  We haven’t really seen potatoes anywhere.  Today I did see an American man eating an order of French fries, but that’s the only time.  No one eats as much meat as Americans.

Smoking is more apparent here.  It does seem like there are more smokers.

There are a lot of dogs here.  It’s interesting to watch them…most of them just know to follow their owner.  There isn’t really grass along the walkways, so occasionally you do have to be careful where you step.  Dogs are allowed in many businesses and seem to be part of the community.

Venice is made up of thousands of small businesses.  There are so many that seem to be pretty much the same, that it’s amazing to me that these people can make a living.  Most shops close for an hour or two in the afternoon.  I understand that the owners need to eat, but I also think it might be to encourage tourists to spend time in the many, many restaurants.

One thing we did experience today was aqua alta—the high water that washes up from a high tide or after a lot of rain.  While waiting in line for the Basilica tour we had to wait on risers.  This morning we had to board our vaporetto on risers to avoid getting wet feet.  We were behind a gentleman who was on crutches and had a friend pushing his wheelchair.  It was very apparent that it wasn’t easy for either of them.  There are many, many steps, bridges, uneven walkways and other obstacles.  We’ve only seen one bridge…the new glass one…that has accommodations for the disabled.

I think you can kind of see the risers…not easy to navigate even if you don’t have any mobility issues.

We haven’t made any plans for tomorrow, but the weather forecast said “abundant sunshine”.  I don’t think we can beat that!  Have a great day!

We rented a 2 bedroom apartment.  I can show you a picture of our kitchen, where we spend most of our time.  We haven’t had the TV on since we left the U.S.  Everything here is smaller and more compact.  Because it’s been chilly, we’ve used the heat, but it’s subtle heat, not the blowing kind Americans are accustomed to.

The bedrooms are very small.  In fact, there isn’t enough space in the one I’m staying in to get a picture of it.

We do have a washing machine in the closet of one of the bathrooms.  However, it will only hold what you’re wearing and takes about an hour to launder it.  I don’t think most people have dryers, but they do have clothes lines.  Here are my clothes hanging outside. Our shower is barely large enough to turn around in.

We are about a 5 minute walk from Campo Santa Margarieta.  I love the square.  This is where we have our morning cappuccino.  There are also  2 vegetable markets, 2 or 3 fresh fish markets, a couple of restaurants and the usual place to buy Italian newspapers, gum and tourist stuff.  Today, for the first time, there was a vendor selling men’s and women’s clothing.  I bought an Italian cashmere sweater for 38e.  We also bought fresh salmon for dinner tonight.  We both thought it was absolutely delicious!

Not far away, we have bakeries, gelato, hardware, herbalist and most anything else that is necessary.  Our square is always busy…we’re very near a university and the students tend to congregate in the square.

Internet service doesn’t always seem to be reliable, but we Americans are spoiled.  Even though this is a very different way of life, I’m enjoying the change.  There is a peacefulness that comes with no cars and no TV.  I find I’m doing more reading.  We enjoy hearing the church bells throughout the day.   I love the walking and I love getting to know the workers in the small shops. The Venetians seem to accent the beauty in everything they do.  Tomorrow we plan on going to the island of Burano, famous for its lace.  See you there!

Don’t miss the very last picture.  We ate lunch out and I decided to be adventurous.  What you’ll see is a delicious pannini…goat cheese, arugula, tomatoes and shredded horsemeat.  The horsemeat was quite smokey, but delicious.  I saved half so I can have it again.  (I truly don’t mean to offend anyone, but I wanted to try it.)

I’m not a frills kind of person, but, I have to admit that I am in awe of Venice and its buildings.  Yes, they are old, but there is something about the character that they have that makes them so interesting to look at.  The details are endless.  I’ve become fascinated with doors and door knobs this trip.  Windows are also interesting as well as the iron work that seems to be everywhere.  The shapes and designs of all these things can provide anyone with creative inspiration in their own media.  Please enjoy some of my photos of the buildings of Venice.  While you look at them, imagine the church bells ringing, as they do many times each day.

This exterior relief is on the San Marco Basillica.  It has dozens of other exterior sculptures and reliefs.  Inside are elaborate mosaics and stone mosaic floors.

Interesting doors and door knobs are everywhere.

Venice is a feast for the eyes.  Whether you’re an artist or someone who enjoys architectural details and styles.  Venice has something that will capture your interest.  Even though I love the visual appeal and creative inspiration that Venice offers me, I think the real appeal of Venice is the people who are so proud of their city, who work so hard to keep it clean, and who make all of us who are visitors feel so welcome.  Our first week is over…now we have to be sure to do all the things we came here to do!