Sunday March 29th

Up at 8 and downstairs for a great breakfast! The hotel has a nice-sized buffet with eggs, sausage balls, bacon, lots of kinds of bread, cheeses, slices of ham, turkey and salami, several fruit juices, lots of pastries and lots of coffees.

After breakfast Randy and I had to pack our bags for room swap this morning. Our tour starts today but when we arrived a day early they put us in a room that was only available one night. Now we move to a different room for the next couple of nights. Oh well...

The tour didn't start until later so we 6 were on our own again today. Randy and I took our lightest backpacks and joined the others downstairs. I asked the lady at the front desk what she would recommend besides St Mark's Square and gondola rides (since we would get those on the tour). She recommended we go to the Jewish Ghetto. It was a bit of a walk but we are all good walkers, so off we went! We were armed with a map with did us no good whatsoever, and a phone GPS. We did not take the direct route anyway; basically we shopped our way. In one store we learned that there are 6 parts of Venice's gondola tail and each part means something. We walked by this beautiful bridge, which is one of the spots we will visit on the tour. 

Nearby is one of my favorite buildings. I just love the windows, the flowers, everything!

We stopped in a nice little grocery store with a lot of great-looking meats that we couldn't get. 

Like everywhere else, they do not have Coke Lite or Diet Coke so we regretfully got Coke Zero plus a couple of cannoli. It was tricky finding the way out of the store; you enter in the front but exit at the back of the room next door. Outside we heard the church bells again. 

One shop had personalized aprons. They looked very nice and well made so I got one for Randy. Note to self: Do Not Put It In The Dryer.

Jack and I talked photo editing products as we walked along. He takes lots of photos and recommends VSCO photo editor; I'll have to check that out. 

About this time we needed a restroom. We found one in the Gelato Di Natura, where, for the price of a small snack which we wanted anyway, we could all use the restroom. 

Then we continued our walk. So many things to see!

We finally arrived at the Jewish area. There is a sizable and very empty square with plaques on some of the walls that recall the holocaust horror. It was emotional and moving. To our dismay there were also a couple of armed guards. What a shame that this place needs guards. 

Now it was time to head back to the hotel. Jack told me that just outside our hotel was an artist selling her work so I impulsively bought a painting of a gondola in the canal. Randy found some truffle items for sale; that's probably much more useful! Then we joined the rest of our gang at an outside restaurant.

Randy and Jack ordered an aperitivo spritz before the meal. 

I had the lasagna and it was excellent!! The sauce was just a bit similar to Bernardos (in East Peoria) and the whole thing was very tender and totally delicious. 

Randy ordered prosciutto pizza which was also delicious.

And for entertainment we watched Aaron take about 40 little bitty clams out of their shells as he tried to eat his clam pasta dish.

Nearby we found this gorgeous lion. Lions are very important in Venice because of their affiliation with St. Mark. I just think they are beautiful.

Then we went back to our hotel, the Bonvecchiati. 

In spite of being a big hotel, it has a tiny elevator. Even so, it was larger than the one in our hotel when we visited Rome in 1999!

We moved from room 326 room to a room on the 4th floor, which was a little smaller and had a harder bed. After a short nap we went downstairs at 5:30 to meet our CIE Tour director Giuseppe (which translates to Joseph). While he talked to us about the upcoming tour, we enjoyed Prosecco light champagne, water (still and fizz) and potatoes chips. 

We learned that we should leave tips in cash on table, never on credit card (charged tips won't be given to the staff). He recommends 10 percent for restaurant tipping and 2-3 euros for miscellaneous services.  And 20-25 euros for each of us to the bus driver. 

He walked us to St. Mark's Square where he told us that many of cafes in the square have excellent musicians. In to avoid conflicting sounds that ruin the vibe, the musicians take turns. And exspresso that costs normally 1 or 2 euros will cost 20 euros here - location, location, location! In 1902 the tower fell into square at night without hurting anyone (except a stray cat) and was rebuilt. Giuseppe also said that the square is the lowest point in Venice and sometimes water seeps up through the plaza floor.

We walked back to the hotel for dinner: flan with spinach and crustless mushroom quiche. Excellent lasagna as a first course, very creamy and flavorful. After that we were expecting great things of the second course, but that didn't happen. Randy had veal and I had chicken; they were both barely OK, and I didn't like the vegetable at all. 

After dinner our little group walked back to the square. Along the way we passed the gondolas, packed in snugly for the night.

St. Mark's Square is beautiful at night. We discovered that there was a wet spot in the center, where early in the day it was dry. 

This is a good group to travel with! Natasha was with us tonight, which gave Jack someone closer to his own age to talk with. 

The sides of the square are extra beautiful at night, with long rows of lights, several stories high.

I love being able to enjoy all of this with Randy! He set this up for all of us, and I am so grateful!

One of the bands was playing near us - lovely Italian airs. During one song Randy pulled me into the center of the square for a sweet slow dance!

The next song was quick and lively, and one of the guests started grabbing people for a circle dance. She got me, I got Jack (Randy was farther back), and away we went!

As the night got darker, the water kept bubbling up in the center of the square.

Before we left it had filled the whole center section. Beautiful, wonderful, lovely, fantastic!