once again….we were NOT kidnapped by handsome Italian counts…or no-counts, for that matter.  We went to Venice for a few days and had poor or no wifi reception.  Even in restaurants that boasted Free WiFi…it wouldn’t work.

We had so much fun.  Took a ‘Fast Train’ from Rome and it only make a few stops…Florence, Bologna, Padova, Venice (mainland) and Venice (island).  We bought our 3 day vaparetto ticket and took off for St. Mark’s Square.  The Vaparetto is like the city bus.  A medium to large boat, I guess depending on time of day and normal rider use.  It goes down the Grand Canal moving from side to side to the Vaparetto stops to let people off and on.  Before going to Venice, I couldn’t get the waterways in my head… how they worked.  Picture the Grand Canal as a big, wide freeway that cuts through the center of the town.  You can take a bus…the Vaparetto, a Taxi…water taxi, or private car…Gondola.  Priced accordingly.  When you get to your Vaparetto stop or taxi stop, you disembark and walk.  There are small canals shooting off the Grand Canal and other canals shooting off the main canals…just like streets at home.  The streets are just made of water, and cars become boats.  You can catch transportation to other islands.  Lots of small bridges in Venice…but only a very few over the Grand Canal.

We found our convent hotel and checked in.  A lovely old building that the nuns have inhabited since 1932.  Only 4 nuns live there now, the others live on the other sideman the Grand Canal.  The building has a small reception area.  To the right are stairs that go to the nun’s offices and a big sitting room where we would have coffee.  From there on the second floor are classrooms and the chapel where the nuns attend Mass at 6:45 every morning.  It is small and fairly simple.    From the reception area you can go into a large courtyard that leads into a big hallway with classrooms off of it.  The convent is a school for children ages 3-11.  They all wear smocks to cover their clothes…white for the littlest ones and navy blue for the older ones.  Passing thru the great hall, there is a tiny courtyard that leads into the area for the rooms on 4 floors.  There are 14 guest rooms with private baths.  Simple, clean and comfortable.  All accessible by stairs and elevator.  Our room had floor to ceiling doors that opened to a tiny balcony.

We left the convent to explore and went to St. Marks Basilica.  And got right in…no lines!  You can read up on the Basilica on Google.  The mosaics are beyond description.  Just stunningly beautiful with gold and brilliants colors.  The floors are all quilt patterns!  Done in marble and stone..all beautiful colors.  After the Basilica, we hit the shops to,see the beautiful Murano Glass…jewelry, vases, glassware, figurines from huge to teensy.  Most made in Murano and some made in China.  Chinese goods being passed off as authentic are a growing problem in Italy.  And didnI mention chandeliers?  Absolutely breathtaking!  I forgot to mention the Murano glass chandeliers hanging in every room of the convent.

We had dinner in a cute restaurant.  Andy had the best spaghetti with seafood she has ever had and I had mussels…again.  We collapsed after dinner and slept with the almost full moon shining in our windows.  Slept like babies!