Venezia

A rainy day in Venice but we took a vaporetto ride to Murano (glass making) island and Burano (lace making) island. We went to a third island to see a really old church (1100s) with beautiful mosaics but it started to pour. So K and I stayed on the boat and met our fellow passengers who also didn't want to drown on a tiny island. Bob went on ahead and came back soaked but that was OK because the the boat was leaking anyway. We had a delicious lunch in Venice and the waiter used great flare to cut up and debone my grilled sole. We drank another bottle of great and cheap wine. Bob then went to the local laundramat to do the laundry while K and I took a little nap. When we went to find him an hour later - HE WAS IN CHARGE AT THE LAUNDRAMAT! We walked in to find him running the machines, directing everyone in what to do. Making change, watching over people's laundry so that they could go grab a cafe latte. He was the GO TO MAN. We were very proud and are hopeful that he will have a future job at home. Yesterday we toured St. Mark's Square and were overwhelmed by the beauty of the mosaics. The Catholic church certainly had a major hand in the development of so much art. Last evening we sat in St. Mark's Sq outside the Hotel florian and listened to a 4 person orchestra and enjoyed the evening. We also got some great pictures of cops kicking an artist out of the square and it was fun watching the people. I have seen some incredible fashions - but not a skort in the whole bunch. Can it be that skorts will be in season NEXT season and we ladies are just ahead of the crowd? I like to think so. Our room in Venice is the 3rd floor but that means you must walk up 4 double flights of steps! We try to consolidate trips. This morning, before the rain, it was laundry day in Venice. Laundry lines were strung across the narrow canals on the back streets and laundry was hanging. The streets are so narrow that sometimes you can only walk in single file. I will post Venice pictures after we get to Florence tomorrow and have a chance to download the files. Until then I will post some more photos from the Lake Como area and the places we saw in Bellagio and Varenna (before we had that run in with the goats). Stop me before I eat again!