Had a pretty decent breakfast (I have started enjoying the breakfast now, especially the butter, milk and chocolate) and left the hotel at 0800 and reached Florence at 1100 hrs.
We had a walking tour of Florence, meaning that we parked the coach on one side, walked through the squares and fountains and boarded the bus again after an hour. It was a good walk, with excellent weather.
We first saw the Duo mo, one of the oldest churches. All churches and buildings are of the Gothic architecture. What is to be admired is the way these are preserved. The Duo mo was an excellent view, both because of the height and the narrowness of the road, which had all money changers. On seeing money changers, we thought of changing some more of our Rupees to Euros, only to find that this was 50% more expensive. Anyway we decided against the change, until absolutely required.
Next we saw the Baptistery. a fountain where people were throwing coins and asking for wishes. We decided that it was not worth throwing Euros for wishes too. The fountain itself was very pleasing. We had coffee and ice creams here in one of the coffee shops/ In Europe you cannot use the toilets for free, and it is better to have a coffee for 1 Euro(and get to use the toilet free), rather than use the toilet for 50 cents.
We then saw the open air statue museum, called the Piazza Della signorina. Some of Michael Angelo's works were also on view. The statues, all in the open presented a great sight. What we wondered was the reason for all statues, (or at least most) were of semi clad (or nude) men only. In India, it is the other way around. Reasons anybody?
We then had a walk across the Verchio Bridge along River Arno. It was a fairly good walk and we boarded our waiting coach.
Next was Venice, after a 3 hour drive, with a halt for the usual lunch (on our own). W reached Venice at 1630 hrs. We had to take a private boat to reach the island. Venice, in fact consist of 27 islands. To me the view was amazing. I was itching to get into a Gondola, until I was told that it costs 12 Euro, for a
Half hour ride.
We spent an hour admiring the water roads and the Gondolas. The buildings on the banks were all turned to star hotels. Wish I could come back and explore the place better.
The Mark's square, with a lot of happenings, is a good relaxation point. Lot of pigeons wait to be fed here. There are ice cream parlours and coffee shops all along, tempting the taste buds. We did share an ice cream.
We also had a visit to the Murano glass show room. The glass works were amazing. The prices, were even more amazing.
Had a very good Indian dinner (Pastas, were also in the menu. They were very tasty too) and checked into our Hotel at the usual 2100 hrs.
We attempted our first call to India from here. Savi chose her sister Kalyani for the first call. Unfortunately, she was away and Savi had to be content talking to her Athimbar.
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