Day 8 –Venice - Friday, January 10th 2014

In the words of that great man Indiana Jones…. “Ah Venice!”

Today we explored the sights, sounds and….you guessed it, shops of Venice. The day started with a tour by another experienced guide. Some of the sights were, The Doges Palace, St Mark’s Square and the Cathedral. 

The Campanile tower of St Mark's in St Mark’s Square.

The square is directly in front of the Basilica of St Mark, a beautiful church that is currently being restored.

The entrance to St Mark’s Basilica.

The square is also surrounded by the colonnades of the Procuratie Nuove. This beautiful line of columns cover the 3 remaining sides of the square.

Once the tour was finished the group decided to go to the Rialto Bridge and all of the shops in between. Many things were seen and bought. Venice is a Mecca for those who like to shop. We saw Rolex Watches for 9,000 Euros and Cartier watches foe 28,000 Euro. A little beyond our price range. However there are a lot of reasonably priced goods and services in the area. This was our lunch break for the day and as usual the boys applied themselves to the task at hand. Namely….eating!

Of course we also saw a lot of Condolers waiting to be hired by a member of the public. Very pretty, very atmospheric, but also very expensive, so none of our group took a ride.

A group of Gondolas near the Rialto Bridge

After lunch and a good deal of shopping our group set of for the island of Murano, where glass is both made and shape via a cruise by Vaporetto down the “Grand Canal”.

Christian, Brandon, Carey, Robert and Liam at the stern of the Vaporetto with the Rialto Bridge behind them.

No Caption Necessary!!!!

The Grand Canal is the main waterway through the heart of Venice.

The Grand Canal

We changed Vaporetto and boarded the one going to Murano. Out on this Island glass is made and shaped into an almost limitless number of shapes (and cost!!) We saw glass blowing and shaping, which whetted the boys appetite for more shopping, so glass was bought and put away into the bags for those much needed presents.

Soon we were wending our way home after a very busy day content in the knowledge that we have done our best to see everything there.

The guys heading back to the Hostel after a hard day of sightseeing (Inside a Vaporetto)