Sept 16th - Sept 21st
Well our family camping trip has finally come to an end. I am a really happy not to have to sleep on the ground anymore!! But I will also miss the fun campsites that we visited. It was such an amazing part of our adventure! Just in case my dad thought that we could camp for a few more days - my Mom made him get rid of all the camping stuff!
We traveled toward Venice and got to our Airbnb. It was great to finally get to a nice house. We are staying here for 5 nights and the best part is that we are picking up my Nanny and Poppa as well as my Grandma from the Airport!
On Tuesday Sept 17th I went to the airport with my dad in the morning and we picked them up. It was easy to park and my dad and I went in and waited for the airplane to arrive. I told my dad to wait for a few old people to show up... But then a whole tour group of older people showed up and we couldn't find them anywhere. But then we saw them. I was so excited to see them after 2 1/2 months of not seeing them. I was really really happy to see them!
The first day my grandparent got there, we made a big lunch and then we let them rest because they needed to recuperate from the time change.
That night we made a big yummy dinner of roast chicken and potatoes and salad! It was great!
The next morning we visited Venice for the first time. We took the 6L bus from the bus stop right near our house. The bus was really cramped and we had to stand, but my Grandma and Nanny got seats so they were able to sit. We traveled out to the island of Venice.
We were dropped off at the end of the bus route on the island of Venice and from that point on you had to walk. The only way to get around in Venice is to walk, or take boats down the canals. There are no cars in Venice. We walked all over Venice, over many little bridges and down little alleys. It was beautiful.
We were able to cross the Grand canal on a Gondola. Is was super fun! The Gondola driver (gondolier) kept telling my brothers to keep their hands inside the Gondola! A gondola is moved by a gondolier with a long oar and they had a uniform of a striped shirt and black pants.
We walked right through Venice to St. Mark's Basilica and St. Mark's Square. It was such a great day. What a fun city.
On Thursday Sept 19th we took the opportunity to use the boats that run all around Venice. They are called Vaporettos. After we got off the bus, we got on to a vaporetto. Our first trip was on No. 2. it was very full and down the Grand Canal and all the way to St. Mark's Square. It was very windy and a little cool today, so the boat trip was really great.
We traveled to St. Mark's Basilica and lined up with everyone to take the tour through the church. It was a beautiful church, the inside of the church was made with pieces of gold leaf all over the ceiling. It was a very old church built in 978 and it has the nickname of the Church of Gold. The building was rebuilt over and over again since that time.
After the Church, we boarded another Vaporetto and headed out to the island of Murano. This is the island where all of the glass makers were located. They have been making Venetian glass in Murano since the 1300's and in Venice for at least 1500 years.
Here we are on the vaporatto cruising though Murano. So beautiful.
We had a beautiful lunch and then set out to explore Murano. Unfortunately the glass making workshops were done for the season, so we just got to look through all of the shops. (which was pretty fun too!!)
We were so lucky to see this incredible man play this music with the wine glasses of water. It was so special. We think he was playing the nutcracker suite. (Can anyone confirm? Listen carefully!)
We headed back from Murano toward Venice again, past the Cemetery Island and into the Grand Canal. What an incredible day!
Good Bye Venice! What a beautiful city!
See you soon!
Tia and Mari
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