July 10, 2009

We were up early this morning, grabbed breakfast at 7:30, and were off the boat to Venice. We took a Celebrity water taxi to St. Mark’s Square, and began the day by taking a look at the hotel where Karen’s parents stayed, which is located very near the square. I had booked their hotel for them using their Aeroplan points. I knew that it was supposed to be a fairly nice hotel, but when we saw it we agreed that I had made a fantastic choice for them. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the great location.

After walking around St. Mark’s Square we toured St. Mark’s Basilica. We were amazed at how it seemed as though every square inch of the basilica had been decorated with a painting or some sort of sculpture, and the tiled mosaics on the floor were incredible. After we returned to the square we had to do the obligatory feeding of the pigeons, which Sol and Isaac enjoyed. We then took a free taxi to one of the larger islands in Venice, Murano Island, where we toured a glass factory and store. Murano Island is famous for its glass, and after touring the island we could see why. I have never seen such works of art in my life. Of course many of the pieces cost thousands of dollars, but in the end Karen was able to find some glass jewellery at a reasonable price.

We returned by taxi to St. Mark’s and continued our touring of Venice until the early afternoon, when we returned to the cruise ship. Departure from Venice was at 3:00 p.m., and we sailed right past St. Mark’s Square on our way out to the Adriatic Sea. It was a great time for picture taking, and in the end I had taken around 275 pictures of the city. Venice is truly amazing.