Yesterday we went to Venice. We were on the main island, San Marco. The =
morning kicked off with a glass blowing demonstration on St. Marks’. =
Square, which was very cool. They made a vase and a cat in under 10 min. =
Venice is known for its glass and embroidery. After that we we went to =
visit the Accademia museum to see the Leonardo da Vinci pieces, only to =
find out they were not on display (after we paid). Next stop was Peggy =
Guggenheim collection. We got to see some Jackson Pollock and Picasso =
amoungst others.=20
Venice is a labyrinth and difficult to navigate. We get maps from Coniki, =
but they don’t have all the street names, so we got a better map from one =
of the hotels. The are also useful sign posts for some of the tourist =
attractions, so once you are on a main route things get easier to =
find.
We then went for a Gondola ride where we drank Bellini’s. It’s another one =
of Venices’ claim to fame. It’s a kind of sparkling wine/alcopop drink. The =
ride was nice and I got some cool pictures. While on the Gondola our =
“driver” was chatting on his mobile phone. Is that legal? Haha.
We then walked around and did some shopping. Salom=C3=A9 got a really nice =
glass calligraphy pen.
We then went up the Campanile for some stunning views of Venice. By this =
time the sun was setting and it was getting really cold.=20
We the went and did some more shopping. We got some presents. It was so =
cold that I bought a scarf. We then camped out in McDonalds (of all places) =
and had some hot chocolate, chips and “burgers”. This was my first European =
McD’s. Some oddities: There is no menu. They only advertise the meals and =
specials. They give you a cup of hot water and you have to mix your own hot =
chocolate and the best of all tamato sauce costs R1 for a small (think =
hotel jam) container.
We then headed back to the pickup point, where I took some pics of the =
square using my new tripod, and caught the boat back to the main =
land.
Next stop is Vienna, where it will hopefully be snowing. Things only get =
colder from here on in!
Trivia: Italy has a chain of petrol stations called Erg. Which if =
translated to Afrikaans means terrible :)=20
Steps: 12195