After saying goodbye to Rome, we headed for Venice for two nights. Before reaching Venice, we had about 90 minites to explore Verona. We were taken to Casa di Giulietta (Juliet's balcony), and were given some free time to explore the city. The Roman Arena was a scaled-down version of the Colosseum, but nearly as impressive. We left Verona, and made our way to Venice.

The next day saw us board our private ferry which took us to the city and Piazza San Marco. We watched glass-blowing and lace making demonstrations, and then were set loose to explaore Venice. After walking around St Mark's Square, I had something to eat and watched the world pass by. After the much needed meal, I visited the amazing Basilica di San Marco. It was worth spending the rest of the day in discomfort wearing jeans in the incredible heat just to visit the Basilica. After taking some photos of the architecture, and the view, I moved on and went in search of the Rialto Bridge. I chose not to use my map, and just started walking, in what I thought was the right direction. I walked through parts of the city that I could not imagine many tourists would see and enjoyed every minute of it. That joy was soon lost when I realised I was lost, and then found out I was on the other side of the city. After taking a break in the shade, I moved on and soon enough found the Rialto Bridge.

A few photos of the bridge, and I found myself standing back in Piazza San Marco. Two servings of gelato later, it was time to meet up for our gondola ride. I had bought a bottle of wine during the day to take on the gondola. Luckily I remembed my pocket knife, which had a bottle opener, and Dave had some plastic cups. We were set. It was so relaxing being taken along the Grand Canal and enjoying the wine. Before we knew it, it was time to depart the gondola and move on to dinner. Another memorable meal, and plenty of laughs around the table.

Back to the ferry, and then on to the hotel. Not a lot of parting tonight. We were all exhausted. I managed to write a few postcards and was looking forward to our next destination... Vienna.