Venice, Italy

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We got up early to take the high speed train, Italo, to Venice. It was about a two hour ride. At one point, we were traveling at 300 km/h or about 190 mph! Curtis really liked that.
When we got there, it was raining. So we ducked into a cafe and had a cup of capuccino. We didn't realize that sitting inside would cost us more than taking them to go.  I forgot about the cover charge that restaurants charge per person.
So we meandered our way through Venice toward Piazza San Marco. It was very busy with tour groups. We were going to go inside the Basilica, but the line was really long! So we started walking toward Doge's Palace. We almost made it when a guy approached us and asked if we wanted a free glass factory tour.  I did want to see the glass making that is famous in Venice. He said no obligation. But we were both prepared for the "catch".
He lead us to a REALLY nice private water taxi and told us not to tip the driver. I have to say the boat ride out to Murano Island was beautiful! It had quit raining and we got great views of Venice from the water. There was a point when all of my alarms were going off in my head. But Curtis was with me so I just tried to enjoy the water ride.  I would never have agreed if my husband wasn't with me!
Of course there was a representative waiting for us when we landed. He told us that glass making dates back to the Eighth century on Murano. They try to get tourist over to show off the factories and preserve their heritage. It was a ploy of course! But, watching the guy make a vase and a unicorn standing on his hind legs was pretty neat!
The moral of this story is don't get suckered and you can always say no! But we did enjoy the boat ride and we bought my sister a pretty set of Murano drinking glasses from the clearance section!  I think we made out ok.
All in all, Venice was ok. We didn't do a gondola ride because they were pricey.  We enjoyed our leisurely day together. But we both agree that we like Florence the best! As I write this, we are on the high speed train back. We're both tired, but happy that we made the trip. We can check Venice off our bucket list!























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