Waltzing in Venice

They day we left Como it was under a light, but beautiful rain. If only Texas should be so lucky. The tiny roads definitely honed my driving skills.

Once we came down from the mountains and headed over to Venice we were able to really experience the A1. It's the equivalent to our interstate. However in Europe each lane has a set minimum speed, pretty cool.

As we neared Venice the directions via Google seemed to get a little vague and we ended up just north by about 15 miles. Meg had been wanting to go to the outlet malls and low and behold...there they were! However, after a quick run through we soon discovered that even with a 75% discount we couldn't justify fancy brand names prices!

Well, we finally made it into Venice just in time to swim in the swarm of tourists headed back to the cruise ships at the end of the day. Shuffling along with the masses, no one understanding what anyone else was saying since we were all from lord knows where! After two failed attempts at the public transport boats on the canal and ending up just shy of our intended destination we finally stumble through the tiny "streets" to our oasis Hotel Al Duca di Venezia. Whew! I just want to put a shout out to the person who thought up wheels on suitcases.....YOU ARE A GENIUS!!! That night we didn't venture to far except around the corner to a neat little square where we had another wonderful meal with "Mama" and her little helpers. Right before dinner ended, wonderful music began to play in the square and we seemed to be transported back into the 1940's. The music began to rise and as if from nowhere dancers began to emerge and put on a show like no other. They were only locals, but the moves......oh the moves! And the legs! I have never seen such amazing legs on so many women in my entire life and not a single one in flats. No way! These shoes would make Tina Turner proud.

It's all about the shoes.....

The next day it was a treat to have a private canal tour by a wonderful guide. I cannot imagine any other way to experience the city than this. The information we absorbed along with the with the sites and stories! That evening, after a very full day, Meg and I ventured out into the city again for a wine tasting. Papa had had enough of the cattle call and shuffling along the tiny streets with thousands of his closest friends that he decided to stay in and rest and join us later for dinner. Okay, in mine and Meg's defense we truly did intend to return for Papa once we were done. It's not our fault that only one other couple showed up and we had to consume almost 4 bottles of wine between the 4 of us! Waste not, want not! We made fast friends with our wine tasting buddies who turned out to be a young couple from Memphis, TN of all places! We had a marvelous time and then took them back to our little square in hopes to see more dancing, but alas it was not to be. The dancers did not return and so we had a wonderful meal at Mama's once again.

A home along the grand canal. 

Piazza San Marco

Lunch!

In the ancient ship yards

Weather atop the S. Maria d. Salute

Beautiful canal bridges

Bottoms up at the wine tasting

The BrAngolina house where Brad Pitt and Angie stayed during her filming of The Tourist with Johnny Depp

Cheers!

Just one glass a day is all you need....

The Basilica entrance

Our wonderful wine coach

See the little yellow house the the left...that belongs to Sir Elton John!

Best Chianti ever!!!

While we were in Venice the film festival was going on. This gondola just happened to have a film crew hard at work.

An amazing fresco on the side of a home in the Grand Canal depicting the glass blowers of Venice.

Thirsty much??

Beautiful glass work in our hotel

Bottom's up Tennessee

Hotel to the stars

The little ninja hard at work. The door to our room was ajar when we came home the second night and Meg volunteered to see if the coast was clear. LOL 

Mama's little helper's

Amazing glass work over on Murano Island where all the ancient glass blowing secrets are kept

Now that's a tiny street!

Our Memphis buddies!

At the end of the day in the empty market hall

Our guide

Pizza????

Protector of the city

The salty walls of Venice

Quite down please! Well heck, what do you expect after how many glasses????

A much needed smoke

WWII sub

In Venice, you come by boat........and you go by boat. No exceptions!

Window from the movie The Tourist

The most amazing music floated from this apartment window down to the streets below.