Venice!

Ahh Venice, they said we were crazy..

Only 2 nights?? For Venice? You'll need a week at least! Well, they were wrong. We came, we saw, and, like the Russian /American/Armenian guy in the next room, we were just a tad disappointed. Sure , she can offer up some stunning sunsets, and the views are jaw-dropping at times, but she is an old dame who has seen better days, and sad to say she is very slowly but surely slipping into the lagoon. Rising sea levels will just about finish her off, I'm afraid, and there's not much anyone can do about it. If only we still still had slaves and a feudal system, we could get a few things done- but no, everyone is too worried their rights and freedom to pursue their goals. I blame the Americans!

We felt like 'tourists' for the first time here.

Venice has 22 million visitors every year. Say that slowly...twenty two million. More than Australia's population every year.
We expected them to run a fairly tight ship, but really, you are like a rat in a psychology experiment, running up and down tunnels, getting little rewards and then gently prodded in the next direction. The director of this giant social experiment must be having a chuckle at the thought of all these people from around the world coming here to spend bucketloads of money to see .... exactly the same things as everyone else!


Our hotel owner must have been a rebel- perhaps part of the Green Party movement that we stumbled into on arrival (their platform seemed to be free beer and funny hats- my sort of party)
He advised us to flee the main island to check out Burano and Torcello. So we did. The tower at Burano has got serious left-leaning tendencies! Can you believe it hangs over a school playground? (and has done for centuries, probably) What would Workcover make of it?
These two small islands seemed a million miles away from Venice- quiet, laid back and relaxed. We had found our Venice.

And finally, for all of us who look at big things and wonder 'how much?', this little runabout has the answer on its bow.

Next: Get thee to Fair Verona