A Trip to the islands

Today we have the tour of the islands booked. We meet our docent and the American couple, Richard and Louise and head off by waterbus to Torcello,

where we spend considerable time inside a 12th century church-this was a whole lot better than it sounds.

View from bell tower of Burrano

Then off to the island of Burrano

where we inspect a lace shop(this was as good as it sounds) and watch Senora Bruna doing her thing.

We have a booking at The Gatto Nero for lunch(thank you Barry Jones again) so we invite our new best friends along.

Uncomfortable moment as Louise starts telling us how Obama is the worst president they have ever had, but Richard quietens her down.I was waiting for her to tell us about the repressive gun laws of the US.
Then the three of us take the bus to Murano which is closing up for the day and we narrowly avoid a violent thunderstorm.

Venice, where the roads are made out of water

Today we have the Venice and the Plague tour. The link with the plague was somewhat tenuous, I was hoping for more stories of suppurating lesions of repugnance and rotting fields of bodies, but instead we visited a number of churches dedicated to thanksgiving after the plague had passed.

Byron the ridgeback

Lunch was at Alle Testiere restaurant, the hottest tickets in town with only 8 tables, for a delicious seafood meal.

Claire finally gets her oysters

General wandering around and shopping in the afternoon.

The carefully preserved first example of 12th century venetian blinds

The Train is Mainly in the Rain

Rainy morning

and we are picked up by taxi and taken to the main railway station. Coffee and pastries at the station then on board to Rome. We are fortunate enough to be sitting next to Danny De Vito who talks non-stop at high volume.

Change trains in Rome for trip to Venice. We are even luckier to be entertained by family of middle Easterners who felt they needed to share their conversation with the whole carriage.
We had the foresight to pack a light repast to sustain ourselves on our journey.

There is total chaos at Venice railway station but we find the vaporetto to Rialto-is this the most beautiful bus trip in the world?

Check into hotel with the spectacular views(thank you Barry Jones)

then the 2 hour intro to Venice tour with Matteo who explains all the tips about avoiding queues in Venice and recommends a fine restaurant for dinner.