Monday Sept. 22nd - Venice, Italy

Today we have a guide who we have hired to take us on a personal tour of Venice and also the islands of Murano and Burano. We were really looking forward to this more intimate view than we would get on a large touristy tour, and it was everything we hoped for and more.

Venice is lovely! We were so lucky: our guide, Linda, went to University here in Venice and majored in history. First we walked the narrow streets as she told us about the city.

The tide was high and Linda pointed out that the first floors of the buildings are not used as they are flooded. From the boat we could see this! Cars are not allowed anywhere, everyone (and everything!) travels by boat. We even saw some boat garages.

While waiting for our first private boat we stepped into a church. The entire ceiling was fresco, and art covered the walls in the different alcoves. It had almost a 3-D effect, almost raised.  Also while waiting we saw Linda's husband, who drives a boat.

Venice is a very old city and we saw how the architecture changed over time.  We saw a lot of gothic buildings, and some very modern. It can take a year to get permission to renovate a building, as they are all part of Venice's history.

We saw so many things I can't even list them. One island is their cemetary; Francisan monks have a retreat on another. There's also a garden island where the water and soil create the best vegetables and fruits. We loved the boat trips and seeing everything from the water.