Chiogga and Venice....... Ahhhhhhh....

So much happens in so few days while on holidays! It seems like forever since our last post, only because we have been to many wonderful places, and again, experienced many amazing things.
Dinner with GC's family was fantastic, we could have been anywhere in the world having a delicious dinner with fabulous people, a wonderful, hospitable family, but, here we were, in Italy! Sometimes it's hard to comprehend.

The sandy beach at Chiogga.

Walking along the Breakwater
at Sottomarina.

It was my first Mother's day away from my 'babies' (yes Marcelle, it was a little difficult, I did miss them terribly). Sally and Tim had organised a Mother's Day gift before we left, and Paul bought red roses for Julie and I.


We did have a wonderful day visiting

Sottomarina, a sea-side town near Venice, and strolling along the marina and beach of Chiogga. Here the beaches are not free, you pay for a car park and pay for a sun lounge and umbrella, so people usually come and spend a very long day at the (dirt-coloured) beach. We realised how fortunate we are back in Australia to have the opportunity to visit our beaches any time we wish, and always find a patch of silky white sand to sit on.

Chiogga

Chiogga, on the lagoon, south of Venice, was a delightful place to visit, we ate a fabulous lunch by one of the canals, the cobble stones, the narrow streets, washing hanging on the lines high above, small children playing in the streets, many boats, some elaborate and modern, some well used and in need of repair..... many named after their Nonna..... 'Nonna Maria', 'Nonna Gina'. maybe they bring the fishermen luck!

A 25 minute train ride took us to Venice on Monday..... so many people! The Pope had been there on Sunday, so perhaps there were many more there than usual (although I am told that crowds are normal in Venice). Bridges, gondolas, masks, glassware ..... everything and more that you would expect! They say, if you don't get lost in Venice, you haven't explored it well, but, to our amazement we didn't get lost!We walked the streets, crossed the bridges, visited Murano..... I'll let the photos do the talking!

Today we hit the streets of Verona! We'll save that for the next blog!

We would like to thank our dear friends, Julie and Giancarlo for their kindness and generous hospitality to make our stay an amazing experience.We have truly loved every moment, and will miss them! It was wonderful to stay with good friends, to be welcomed into GC's family, and to share in their life. We've told them they could start a B & B here in Pianiga, they'd have many takers!

Welcome Val and Carmel, and thankyou to Michael V. for your comment too. I'm so glad you thought NAPLAN was fun!
By the way, Paul has been trying on hats.... so many to choose from - photos and voting poll next blog!