The Grand Canal

We boarded the bus in the morning for a long day's drive, through Umbria,


past Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and, finally, into Veneto.

We stayed in a hotel in Mestre, across the causeway from Venezia. We took the Night tour of Venice, including the obligatory gondola ride (including a tenor accompanied by an accordianist).


And then a walking tour through the city


capped by visiting Piazza San Marco.


And around the corner the Bridge of Sighs.


After loitering awhile we boarded a vaporetto and returned to our embarkation point where the causeway connects Venice to the mainland. Some of the grand hotels were all lit up and gorgeous. Under the Rialto Bridge,



after which, we looked back down the Grand Canal and, behold, the Moon rising over old Venice.


This trip just keeps getting better. Tomorrow a visit to Venice by day and on the bus to the Italian Lake District.