Venice!!!!

We are completely worn out! We arrived in Venice last night, and after a gorgeous night ride through the Grand Canal, we almost literally fell into bed. We are staying in a sumptuous, typically Venetian hotel where we have a suite that my cousin arranged for us. It is furnished with antiques, and has a loft, and a jacuzzi tub.

This morning after a breakfast of cappuccino, brie, prosciutto, mortadella, fresh bread, pastries, jam, and nutella, we set out for Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). We toured the complete square and the Basillica, using our handy-dandy Rick Steves Audio Guide. They are so cool! It works exactly perfectly--you are right at the object that he is talking about and it is very informative.

After the Basillica we had lunch in the typically Venetian style where you grab some sandwiches and/or pizza and walk around while you eat. While eating, we strolled to the Rialto bridge. Then it was on the Doge's Palace-which was more then we had anticipated. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs and spent some time in the cold, damp prison. Afterwards, we strolled through the streets of Venice and shopped and shopped some more. Oh yes, there were also 2 gelatto breaks somewhere in there. Gitaine and Christianson have sampled Nutella, Tiramisu, chocolate and strawberry gelatto so far.

Tomorrow morning we are leaving quite early for the train ride into Rome. We are looking forward to seeing everyone, and have learned quite a bit already about how we will be leading our group through Rome. We have already seen at least 10 churches, and that can get old pretty quickly. I will be adjusting the itinerary to provide for maximum "punch" per day.