Europe 2011 - Day 12

St. Marks Square from the ship as we arrived

Venice – words cannot describe Venice. As you are approaching Venice, you pass by a number of other islands that are in the same location and for all of then there only access is by boat. Then you see Venice and again, words cannot describe it. There are no cars, there are no roads, there are no FedEx trucks - they are FedEx boats! It is all buildings, walkways and waterways, some very big, some very small.

The only problem was that it was very foggy as we entered Venice, but the pictures should still tell you the story of the town.

We were off the ship shortly after it docked at 1:00pm and walked to the people mover and took it to the bus station. The bus station is a boat station.

A bus stop

All of the glass companies were moved off the island of Venice and onto the island of Murano, which is a 10 minute boat trip and that is where we headed first. There are many glass makers and shops on the island and I think that we went into them all and finally found four light fixtures for the kitchen and the hall. What fun that will be having Murano glass lights. They only take 3 days to get our house by UPS so we had them hold shipping until next week so they get home just after we do.

We ate an early dinner in a delightful little café along the canal in Murano and then we took the boat back to Venice.

Part of Venice

We spent the next 4 or 5 hours just walking around Venice and seeing the sights. At about 9pm we decided that we needed something to drink and a bathroom break so we sat at an outside table in St. Marks Square and had two Cokes. One of the biggest mistakes we have ever made as the cost was $28 Euros or $40 US!! Oh well, I had great company, the sodas and chips were good and the music was fun.

Then it was back on the boat to get to the ship. Much to our surprise, the people mover at the port closed by the time we got there and we had to walk about a mile to get to the ship. No one told us and all the other people who arrived when we did and we were not happy about the walk – but Venice the first day was really fun.

Main Street - Murano

Bus ride down a canal

Tomorrow we have all day to enjoy Venice as e do not leave port until 7:00pm.

Night from Venice.

Barb and the shop owner with our new lights



Europe 2011 - Day 11

As we arrived

We arrived at Dubrovnik, Croatia at 10:00am and this city is amazing as it looks like a fairy tale country. The old city is completely surrounded by a very high wall. You can walk around the entire city on top of the wall and we did that last time.

All of the houses are of the same color brick and have the same red tile roofs, it is a beautiful sight.

We spent the morning walking the streets and going into the shops. Then it was time to fine a local restaurant for some lunch.

Lunch

Our lunch was: Grilled eggplant filled with Mozzarella cheese and basil and baked with a light tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Also we had stuffed zucchini blossoms that were deep fried. Everything was wonderful (Jackie you would be proud of Ed).

Then we went to the waterfront and got a water taxi to Lokrum Island, 10 minutes away because it has a large naturist beach. The beach was rocky rather than sandy and backed onto a grove of pine trees. The lack of sand was more that compensated for by a stunning expanse of water – clear as can be. Actually laying on the huge flat rocks was very comfortable. It was very peaceful as there were probably only 30 people on the entire beach. Ed went swimming it the Adriatic and it was cool but wonderful.

The Beach

Later in the afternoon we took the water taxi back to the city and did some more shopping. Barb bought a beautiful amber ring as she had an open finger to fill.

At about 5:00pm we took the shuttle bus back to the ship, walked around and relaxed until it was time to get ready for dinner.

Dinner tonight was in the Steak House, which is a very upscale, extra cost restaurant; however, we were the guest of the casino so the meal was on Carnival. We invited our new friends from South Africa to go with us and we have a fun couple of hours eating ourselves silly and talking about our different countries, kids, dogs and travels.

Then it was onto the casino where we did very well.

As we entered the city by the water taxi

Tomorrow we sail into Venice at 2:00pm and do not leave until Monday evening. It will be fun visiting Venice again.