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Amazing to wake up in Venice, I listened to the sound of water outside my window and boats passing during the night, then the sounds of the cafes setting up woke me early. My breakfast was served in the window alcove, marmelade croissant, roll with cheese, juice and tea with an amazing view. I wanted to hit the ground running and get ahead of the tourist crowds, so I was in the first group to go in the basilica de San Marco today. This was an absolutely stunning church inside, completely covered with gold mosaic artwork, but unfortunately no photos allowed. You get a hint of the grandeur from today's photo of the entrance to the church. I went into the galleries near the roofline to better see the mosaics and also the amazing views from the balconies of the piazza and palace. Next stop the palazzo ducale - the seat of Venetian government up until late 1700's, home to the doge (figurative head of Venice who lived in splendour), courts and more ominously, the inquisition and gaol! Casanova was a previous guest of the gaol for corrupting nuns but escaped by walking past the guards. Very interesting museum, but would have loved to have gotten a space on the booked out secrets tour that gave you the lowdown of the secret rooms and political intrigues and scandals.
When I exited the palace, the sky was black and within minutes a thunderstorm sent the crowds in the piazza running, including a wedding party and a fashion photo shoot. I kept walking until I found a nougart shop and sampled the goods - venetians famously have a sweet tooth and so do I. I had a look at a couple of glass shops, there is some beautiful art glass amongst the tourist trash but no bargains. Lunch was at a really local trattoria, brasaeola rocket and grana salad with a Bellini!
The rain gave way to sunshine and blue skies. I walked all over Venice trying to find my meeting place for the tour, until a helpful local realised I had been given the wrong instructions. In the meantime my camera had decided to stop working!!!! So I had to hurridly buy a replacement (€300 later) as the shops are shutting for a festival tomorrow and I think it is well and truly on the way out! I got the same camera just the newest version of it (in Italian, really nervous about everything working together!). I had just enough time to meet the tour - thank god we were about to go on a drinking tour of Venice! It was a great group, lots of Aussies, mostly all from an intrepid tour of Italy. It was great to compare travel notes, they were really curious about travelling independently in Italy! We went to 4 local drinking holes, had wine and local cichetti (tapas) in the backstreets, lots of fun and an insight into Venetian life. Aperitif works differently here, you buy your drink and whatever you want from a huge selection on displayed tapas - lots of different things on bread, stuffed fried olives, frittata and lots of seafood. I joined my newfound friends for dinner - pizza - but it was a pretty touristy meal. I walked all the way back, enjoying the streets at night and a late gelati - rockmelon and strawberry!
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