This morning was one of the earliest and we got on the road at 7:30 a.m. headed to Venice, Italy. Of course we didn’t leave on time, but that isn’t anything new. The trip to Venice was a little more than seven hours from Zell am See. We made a stop for lunch at some sort of rest area which had the nastiest food I have experienced thus far on this trip. I ate Ritz Crackers and Chelsey at potato chips. Getting to Venice we parked the bus and hopped on a boat to the island. First up was a demonstration of Murano glass blowing and then a tour of the showroom. It was neat to see again, but it was so hot. Venice was the hottest place we had been so far, with temperatures exceeding 80 degrees, and when it has been in the 60s and 70s thus far, being in the 80s was a shock. The group got time to explore St. Mark’s Square and the amazing shops before going on out gondola ride through the canals. This trip was especially neat because we had musicians on one of the boats that sang with a guitarist. Our gondolier, who went by Marco Polo, was probably the best one of the group and before the trip was over let all six of us in the boat get a try at “driving,” which none of the other boats did. By the time our ride was over, it was cooling off and we broke off the grab some amazing pizza in a little restaurant. Tomorrow it is off to Florence for two days before finishing the tour in Rome.
Probably the coolest thing about our stay in Zell am See is that we really got to know some of the others on our trip. In the beginning we talk to people, but besides city tours, everyone went with the people they already knew for free time. With the white water rafting and long afternoons on the terraces, it gave everyone lots of time to chat and really get to know people. This has made the trip since then that much more enjoyable because it is like a group of old friends traveling together.
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