01 09 07 a day in Venice
Breakfast at eight – no worries about what to wear for Phillip! His bags have still not arrived.
We went down to breakfast to find the Clarks nearly finished theirs. Good breakfast again – we have been so lucky with food this trip. Cereal, juice, hot croissants filled with apricot jam, fresh bread rolls, fruit and yoghurt. After all, you never know when the next meal will be. Tell you what, the ‘overhang’ is getting bigger. I didn’t used to overhang my jeans!
Wasn’t long before we hit the streets. So much more to see today. The traders were all out and the shops were all open. It is incredible to think that all that merchandise fits inside little trolleys and tiny cavities that are called shops, with only room for the proprietor and one customer!
There’s all manner of masks – oh what inspiration for the next masked ball! And of course any amount of glass, from the very expensive to the very cheap – but nothing nasty. Souvenirs everywhere, generally the same prie, but there is a variance. The further you are from the main tourist areas the smaller the price generally, and if the price is not what you want to pay, try offering something less. Some will bargain, some won’t.
The day was magnificent. Blue skies, bright sunshine and about 20 something degrees. What a wonderful way to see Venice. Phil bought a couple of things from the African trader – now there’s an interesting experience. They have all the nock-offs – genuine fakes – and you can get things for half the asking price – more if you are not interested in buying. Some of them look pretty dodgy!
Lunch was again a good meal- in a little square San Paulo, I think, and the beer was cold the wine came in a ceramic jug, and the pizza was exquisite.
Shopping again, this time for other people and we had to buy a bag to bring it all home in. We know that BA security will only let us through with one piece of hand luggage, so we need to be able to combine the small bags.
Graeme bought some beautiful masks. We have found that the majority of the shops actually have the artist in residence, and you can meet the person who makes the creations. Phil bought a little mask from the store near the place we had lunch. We will have to mount it when we get back some. He was very taken with a paper mache and leather. The artist assured that each piece was different, and no two of her masks are alike.
We also explore St Marco – obligatory for the visitor to Venie, and we had a look ath the Palace that is next dor. Who knows where the time went, but our feet were tired because of all the hard surfaces, and we needed sustenance.
Coincidence is an amazing thing, and Brian discovered us as we were eating our evening meal. He and Lesley were lost – well, their hotel was – and he was quite pleased to see us. They had been wandering around for a couple of hours before they fund us. Sue asked the waiter where the hotel was, and he pointed the way – it was just a couple of street away – which in Venice could be hours if you took the wrong turn! So we ordered another carafe of wine, and so the night went on.........
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