Arrival in Venice

After time in the Dolomites, we made a pit stop in Bassano del Grappa... and then headed into Venice. Grappa... yes, that is home of the famous liqueur. We went to the Poli Grappa Museum. That was pretty cool. Below: The bridge in Grappa -- looks like the Arno in Florence and a shot inside the Grappa Museum. My mom and I enjoyed Grappa, the town, I'm not so sure about the drink (?)... he he.

Here we are in Venice -- part of the tour included a gondola ride and a serenade. This man, the singer, is really getting into it. He was very good at his job -- I don't know if they make money on tips (I think it was all included in the Rick Steves tour) -- but I could see how it would "rack" up on other tours. He was really entertaining. Normally I would not encourage mindless spending of $, like a gondola tour, but everyone should do it. If you do it in the summer, you have to go really late at night b/c the sun doesn't set until after 9 p.m. -- I think our ride didn't take off until then, and the sun JUST started to set. Most rides include a bottle of bubbly. I'd definitely do this with friends or family for fun.

In front of St. Mark's Basilica and the Piazza S. Marco -- all the tourists and pigeons... hordes of people. I just love the Byzantine stuff and saw more of it when I went to Ravenna!