Buon Giorno,
I must admit, this day has me very excited. There were two places that I definitely wanted to see on this trip and they were Rome and Venice. Well, I must tell you that Roma about blew my mind. Today, we will see what Venezia has to offer. I cannot wait.
We have to take the train to Venice. It is a 3 hour ride from MIlan. The closer we get the more water we see. I guess that I knew it, but never thought that much about it, but Venice is actually an island. The view of the city coming over the bridge on the train is startling. Seeing the city surrounded by all that water is awesome.
After we get off the train and leave the station, 
you immediately know that you are in a city different than any other in Italy. 
The fact that they city is on water becomes evidently clear. 
There are boats everywhere. 
The streets are actually waterways. There are no cars, scooters or motor vehicles to be found. There are people everywhere, surprisingly a large number of English speaking peoples. That is a welcome surprise.
The first thing that we do is get on a boat to go over to the island of Murano. The Venice area is known for its glass works and Masks. On the island of Murano is where the best glass is made. When we board the board we get the opportunity to go through the canals 
and see the many bridges that connect the different sections of the city. Boats of all shapes and sizes pass along side us 
+ and meet us coming the other way. As we head out to the open sea, you can really see the shape of Venezia and the different buildings that it has to offer. 
When we arrive on Murano, 
we get to see one of the glass masters 
give a demonstration on the art of glass making. He is extremely talented. 
The streets are lined with glass shoppes of all shapes and sizes. Mostly all of the are selling glass ware, whether it be jewelry, figurines, watches, clocks, even small furniture. But the thing that stands out the most is the waterways. Your eyes cannot help but glance back to the water to see the many boats go by. 
After being in the hustle and bustle of the other cities, dodging cars and scooters, being able to walk through the crowd without a worry is a welcome change. 
Another interesting fact; the walkways and streets of Venice are the same size as the other Italian cities, but since there are no cars lining bothe sides of the street, there is so much more room to move around. 
The quality of the glassware in the shoppes is impressive. 
You would not believe what things are done with glass. It is all so beautiful.
After walking around for a while, 
we decide to go into the heart of Murano and find some lunch. The bars along the streets are usually touristy. Get off the beaten path and you can find some good home cooking. We find such a restaurant and have a bowl of pasta. We have Amergiano (spaghetti with bacon, onion, chilies and tomato sauce. It was a little spicy for Chris and Craig, but it was right up my alley.
We then took the boat back to Venice to further explore the island. I will let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy. 
These pictures are from Piazza de San Marco on the island of Venice. 
If you feed the pigeons, 
they will come to you like they are trained. 
Its now time to say good bye to Venice, What a lovely city. 
That evening, we head back to Milan for dinner with Luca and Gianluca. We eat dinner at the Playtime Restaurant, 
better known as the Pink Room. 
My mother, grandmother and Tine Jones (Craig and Chris’ mother) would love this room, pink is all of their favorite color. Tonight, I get a little adventurous. I have seafood risotto. The dish has mussels, shrimp, clams and calamari (better known as squid). I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Craig had a Salmon Steak with grilled veggies. It was a great meal.
We were supposed to head for Turin tomorrow, but we have changed plans. Since the public transit workers are on strike on Friday, we will not be able to tour Milan as planned on Friday. So we will switch days and do Milan tomorrow. If you can believe this, the strike is a planned strike. They are doing it to make a point. They plan to work to get everybody to work Friday morning, then go on strike at 8:45am until 3:30pm,time to take everyone home. Hmmm, interesting strategy.
Ciao, Ciao
