Day 8 - Venice to Varese

Early start again for a big day. We arrived at Verona quite early and had plenty of time to look around. The colosseum is in great condition and is used very much for all forms of theatre. It would be quite spectacular to see an Opera in here.

The graffiti in Juliette's courtyard.

I had the idea in my head the the only thing worth seeing here was Juliette's balcony and was very much surprised how lovely the city is. I would love to come back and spend much more time here. Near Juliette's balcony, there is a shop which has ladies sewing furiously making hearts with embroidered names. One lady sewing at the door asked my my name and said 'I do a gift for you' and she had sewed my name in chain stitch in about 30 seconds. I wish I could sew like that.

Next on to Milan, as it was Saturday there were big parking area's of trucks all along the way. They had stopped until midnight on Sunday night when they can set off again. 

Milan is a very large industrial city. It is very crowded and grubby on the way into the centre. The La Scala Opera House looks nothing from the outside but we did not have time to line up and go in so I will have to save that for another day. The arcade is very beautiful and the cathedral spectacular. No wonder it took them 500 years to build it.

A Statue of Leonardo in the square opposit the Opera House.

Following are photos of the arcade and then the cathedral.

It was very late by the time we got to Varese so unfortunately had no light or time to see anything.

Day 6 - Vienna to Venice.

'LThis was quite a long drive. The country is very beautiful and just as it is always shown in photos.

We had lunch beside a beautiful lake and then on to Venice.

A photo just to prove that I really am here. 

We entered Venice on a water taxi, our tour guide warned us that the driver might be rude and he certainly was. They have a captive market. He ordered each one of us to sit in certain positions and then took off down the main canal. He spent most of the time in an argument on the phone or texting. He rarely had his hands on the tiller but we got there just fine. We had our serenaded gondola ride immediately. it was a lot of fun. 

The sun was going down as we made our way to the hotel where I thought I had lost the keys to my padlock and wasted a lot to time getting help to open my bag and then the keys were just in another pocket of my bag.

I was late for dinner and it was a really good meal. At least the Italians like a few veggies.

Day 5 - Vienna all day

We started out early today to go to the Schonbrun Palace. This is a smaller copy of Versailles. Our local guide was absolutely fabulous, knowledgeable, witty and lots of fun. We were not allowed to take photos in there so I bought the book. Luckily, I have photos of the exterior and gardens.

Next we had a tour around the city. What a fabulous city, so many fantastic historical buildings,  museums and galleries. We saw enough in one day to realise that it will be a wonderful place to make a return visit and attend some great concerts. Luckily we have one tonight as part of the tour.

There are Roman ruins found every time the municipality tries to do some upgrade work. Rome has a similar problem.

We had a hoirigeur experience for dinner. I had a laugh and thought how much Frank would love it. The piano accordion playing all the old favourite songs - showed our ages and yes, even I knew some of  the words. Maudie (my mum) would have loved it. 

A lovely Labrador to welcome us to the restaurant

Dinner was, as usual, underwhelming. Apparently, most of the travellers have thought that it was OK, I didn't think I was a fussy eater but maybe I am. I have had schnitzel, sausages, grilled fish, beef stew, and they have all been OK but you don't seem to get any tasty sauces or vegetables, other than baked potatoes. Apparently this is quite normal in Germany/Austria. One good thing is they don't stint on quantity so the blokes are all very happy.

One thing I forgot to mention is that the breakfasts have been fabulous, everything you could need, fried eggs, boiled eggs, omelettes, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, lots of fruits, cereals, cold meats, cheeses, and every pastry imaginable. 

The hotel was on the Danube so had a lovely outdoor eating area.

Next we went to one of the reception rooms at the Borse Palace where we were entertained by a chamber orchestra, ballet and opera. Such talented young people. A lovely end to another big day.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph he performance.

Day 7 - Venice

I was not feeling well and nearly gave it a miss. Thank God I didn't as it was a wonderful day. I left Peter, our Tour Director, telling another long story as I saw that the line-up to the Doges Palace was growing quickly. I am so glad that I did as it was wonderful. It is hard to believe the ability of the artists and trades of that era.

Last view of freedom as the prisoner crosses the Bridge of Sighs

I had a very good coffee in the cafe on the way out. The coffee and food has improved since we got into Italy. Then I hopped on the queue for St Mark's Basilica. Unfortuately, we were not allowed to take photos inside here. When I got to the entry I was told that I had to put my backpack into the church around the corner before I went in. The doorman sent me off to the cloak room but he said "come back here to me - no queue for you". Thank God.

There was water in the square because the tide was up and it bubbles up through the pipes and starts to fill the square. There were only shallow puddles but there were some lovely reflections. We were in the square early so the crowds were not too huge yet, by the end of the day they would be shoulder to shoulder. I didn't climb up to the top of the Campanile. A few too many stairs for me with my dodgy old knee. I had an ice cream, I feel obliged to have one most days to see that they are up to standard. So far they have been very good.

Reflections

Our next excursion was to the glass blowing factory. The artisan was absolutely fabulous and created the most beautiful fine glass horse in under 2 minutes. Next they explained about the gold and silver on the glasses and showed us how strong the glassware is. A set of decanter and 6 glasses was about 600 euros.

It was all incredibly beautiful but we were not allowed to take photos. Real Murano glass is an artwork, it must have the AVG stamp and certificate and it increases in value.

Next we were on another boat to Burano for lunch. We had the most delicious 5 course seafood lunch. Fabulous. Burano is famous as a fishing village where all of the houses are painted bright colours. The women used to make lace while the men were away fishing. There are only a few older women making hand made lace now and while there is a lot of lace to be bought here, only a very little is handmade and incredibly expensive.

The steeple on Burano is at a lean and the children's playground is right under it.

We did not go out again and it was lovely to have an early night. I feel so much better now. I have come through my cold fairly quickly as I have been taking massive amounts of Vitamin C - it seems to have worked well.