On a happy note we did enjoy Venice. Boy, did we enjoy Venice - it was bellissimo! I wish we could have spent longer there - maybe next time...ah well, a girl can dream!
So sit back and enjoy Venice and a little bit of Milan...
Milan
Milanese Luck - on the central floor mosaic in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II you will find a picture of a bull and apparently it's tradition to stomp on the bull's testicles each time you pass by, for luck! Not so lucky for us as it was the next morning, as we were embarking on our adventure in the city, that we were robbed before we had even stepped foot out of the metro!
The Prada shop in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele - ahhhh, be still my beating heart!
Emma having some fun with the ''window display'' at the Benetton shop.
Venice
...just taking it all in.
The Grand Canal swarms with an assortment of boats, water buses and gondolas waiting to pull in to the embankment...
Doge's Palace
Basilica San Marco
The boy and his Ferrari!
wandering the canals...
...and wandering the narrow laneways
Taking a Gondola ride at sunset
in Venice - not something I though I'd ever do!
Our Gondola
How lucky are these two? They don't realise just how lucky they are!
Having a giggle as our Gondolier had just told us we needed to have a ''kissy kissy'' photo going under the bridge!
...what an amazing place...loving the summer breeze and the sound of the water lapping up against the buildings and the gondola...just beautiful - so, so peaceful & relaxing
with some famous sights along the way...Marco Polo's house
the lighter coloured building the centre of the photo was the home of Cassanova
Casanova's front door
a busy 'street'!
Even though it was mid summer and the height of the tourist season, we still managed to find 'quiet' Venice.
Strict regulations concern facades - only porous stucco can be used for renovations as anything else comes away in sheets in damp windy weather. As a result freshly plastered facades start crumbling only weeks after application due the high humidity and salt content in the air. It gives the old buildings character, don't you think?
Does everyone have a boat? I think so!
Poodle Ferry! What a life...
Scaffolding Venetian style
The Delivery Man Venetian style
Sean enjoying one last ride on the water bus no. 1.
Basilica San Marco, Venice's fairytale cathedral - pure Byzantine, full of glorious mosaics and exquisite works of art. The flooring is a paved masterpiece of mosaics on uneven levels in wave patterns - evocative of the sea! I loved it. It was stunning! Even the children were in awe (momentarily).
On top of Basilica San Marco looking down into Piazza San Marco
The winged lion - the symbol of Venice and the symbol of the Apostle Saint Mark - the patron saint of Venice.
Finding a quiet place in the shade - it was a hot day that day!
From the the roof tops of San Marco to more wandering through the lanes...
Window shopping for Venetian masks...
Emma opted for the Venezia Captain's cap instead!
The buildings turned a glorious gold colour in the setting sun - it was lovely.
Time to head back to the mainland...
...it was really hard to leave, we'd had a such a great time. One day, maybe one day we might go back again...Good night Venice and good bye.
...a very, very big thank you to the man behind the lens who took most of the pics on our summer holiday. Where would we be without you? x
* rather than composing them in some sort of creative and artist order (mainly because I'm just not that clever!), all the photos have been placed in 'realtime/as it happened order' - so as to take you on our holiday with us!! Hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did.
Alison x
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