Venice, Italy

A first class ride from Florence to the famous island of Italy, Venizia :) First class means riding with businessman/woman traveling what looks like a routine. We changed our reservation from 1900 HRS to an earlier one since I have got my 3 things to do in Florence checked! :)

So, after a the second last station (I'll find out which); we were the only two in the coach! Oh, we didn't get a seat together. The highlight of the trip was that the woman who sat beside me who couldn't utter an English word not even one; wears THE bag! The YSL Chic in Black!!! OMG, I should have written to start a conversation probably specifically on the BAG itself! Sigh, I dream BIG - can't help myself. Hehehe...

We were greeted with a helpful lady on the Vaporetto counter; she's Marina - saw that on her name tag :) After paying €50 for 2 passes of 36 HOURS ride on actv rides and additional €3 for a Venice Map (they don't give one free here), off we go to Veniglia Venezia Guesthouse at Santa Elena.

What a view! Breathtaking... I've been to Venice twice, this third time - the same 'cantiknya' came out from my mouth. We reached the area when the sun was setting down. In no time at all, we found the place; just like how Izza described it.

We were greeted by a boy, the son of the owner. We were set into a room, view exactly as pictured in the web. 5 minutes, Adriano arrived and we did a little registration complete with a FREE map of Venice and short briefing about the city itself! He recommended us to walk straight as the crowd thinned down at the time but we were already tired. So after refreshed and solat, we went down to the Automatica Bar to get a sandwich and drinks through the many vending machines available :)

In the morning, we started off with a walk to Piazzale San Marco. Zukry in one hand and a camera on the other, the serenity of the area - the sound of boat engines was somehow muted by the water splashing the shore. When we started to walk, the day hasn't start to the tourist. So we got to view how the venetian all ready for work and sending kids off to school. But as soon as we arrived at the center, tourist start to pour in.

We got a little cleverer this time. I decided that we need a new camera, and when we bought this awesome GX1 Lumix; it came with a tripod. So you could imagine us posing for the many shots together, thanks to no 'tembok' but a tripod ;) Yeay! It was still not an easy task, as too many people accidently passed by our camera! Huhu, expected-lah kan!...

We have no idea where each alley lead us to, but I know to bring Zukry to San Marco square, Rialto Bridge, where the gondola rides take place and to my surprise; we found Hard Rock Cafe Venice! (where we had our brunch)

After a complete round the many blocks, we then head home (oh-so-near, I Love it!) to refresh. Up next is another island famous for its glasswork, Murano. It was a 40 mins vaporetto ride away. The second we arrived, a man waiting by the stop announced that there is a free glassmaking show just opposite. So, no thinking there - we head straight to it. A man explained the process in English with a heavy Italian slang - which was somehow nice to listen to although I could only get some of it :P

A €10 for 3 bowls made of Murano glass; we immediately head back to Rialto, hoping to see the market. Unfortunately, it's closed. Only the smell of fish lingered around the area.