Leaving on 5/27 and arriving in Italy on 5/28

Got up early and had scones for breakfast. Then to the airport parking lot where we parked the truck and caught the transport to the airport. It wasn't difficult to get through the lines but Glenda's book bag was pulled aside for manual check - this seems to happen to her a lot! No problem for the rest of us, even thought there was a fresh scone in most of our bags. It's going to be a long flight and it helps to be prepared.

Our the arrival in Toronto was pushed back to 4:30. When we got there we got late lunch in the airport; there were not a lot of choices and we needed something hot and not sweet so we went to Custom Built Burger.  It was Ok but it cost over $30 for 2 cheeseburgers, 1 order of fries, and 1 bottle of water. It hit the spot though. 

We were able to board at 7:15 but our departure was delayed, so we didn't leave until 9 pm. We heard that Joe and his grandson Jack were delayed, also. Toronto airport seems to be having trouble today.

Fortunately the overseas flight was smooth and the individual screens with movies helped pass the time. Dinner was OK - chicken and vegetables in light cream sauce, bread, and cake. We all watched movies until breakfast arrived; a packaged croissant and yogurt cup. 

We arrived in Italy at 11 (time zone change of 6 hours ahead). We were surprised that we did not have to go through customs; just scanned our passports and let the machine compare it to our faces. We met the welcoming lady from CIE but we couldn't leave yet; another couple were missing.  We waited until 12:15 when she gave up and led us to a water taxi. These are generally beautiful boats that ferry people to and from the airport. (There seem to be a lot of tips to give out: Cie lady, airplane porter, water taxi.)

Our driver was very good and drove quickly through the channel which was well-marked with buoys. I thought the water was pretty rough but nobody else seemed to mind. And the waterway was busy; fast-moving boats sped right by us and we bounced along in their wake.

Our water taxi pulled into Venice, passing huge old buildings sitting right at the water's edge. The first few were kind of rough looking, then that gave way to beautiful mansions. There were thriving businesses set up in the street level of most of these.

Right before our hotel is a pretty bridge over the canal.

At the hotel we couldn't check in just yet but we could leave our bags and go for a walk around the area. Sounds good! The downstairs hotel had a lot of lovely blue chandeliers; glass is a very big thing here. 

I also liked that the room keys were attached to pretty old-fashioned bell pull tassels. 

We met up with Joe and his grandson Jack here and we all headed back outside to walk around. Tourism is Venice's big industry so we didn't have any trouble being understood, even though we only spoke English. We stopped at a nearby shop and bought 4 tapa-like snacks, an espresso, and Coke; it costs $40 which seemed high but it was very good!

We passed an old church that, at first glance, looked like a great cleaning and reconstruction was underway. It turned out to be an "art" display that covered the floor. Not to my taste.

Onward! We stopped at a little food place where we got a little spinach and ricotta cheese pizza, and a prosciutto and mushroom pizza -  excellent! Then we continued walking and looking around. So many pretty gondolas here!

And on to St Mark's Square! It's full of amazing sights and we will be able to spend more time here tomorrow as part of the tour. For now we just walked and stared.

Then it was time to go back and check into the hotel. It started sprinkling on the walk back, just before we reached the hotel. The rooms are nice with large bathrooms and free toiletries but no washcloths. Why doesn't Europe use washcloths? No matter, we brought our own. Time to nap.  

We awoke to the sound of church bells outside our window - how nice! Aaron, Glenda, Randy and I went out again. Most stores here are specialty stores. Since Carnival is so important here, there are several mask stores. Some are reasonably priced, but it is possible to spend several hundred euros on fancier ones.

Because these old buildings have been here so long, a single building can have a lot of variations in trim, facing, even windows. 

The canals are the roads here; you either walk or take a boat. 

The canals are all flanked with wide walkways. All the other streets are quite narrow, tucked between tall, old buildings. 

We ready to eat so we stopped at Al Theatro for a bite; these were pricy but very good!

 And it was in a pretty area, too.

And later we found some gelato!

We were going to walk back to square after dark to see the lights but heard thunder and felt sprinkles, so we decided against that.