Venice

After several wonderful days in Tuscany, we hopped in the van and drove north to Venice.  Bologna was about halfway, so we made a 90-minute lunch stop there around the main square getting a quick visual image of the city.  

Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region and is known for its many miles of porticoes -- listed by UNESCO as world heritage sites that "have become an expression and element of Bologna's urban identity."

We drove on to Venice, and dropped off the van at the mainland Mestre train station then took the regional train to the Santa Maria Novella station on the main island.  The historic heart of Venice is a maze of canals and narrow alleyways that look pretty much like they did centuries ago when the Venetian empire ruled the seas in the Mediterranean and surrounding lands.  To explore the city, you're either walking or in a boat.  The public transit system is actually a small naval fleet of boats called vaparettos.

We wandered the back alleys admiring the architecture, exploring the shops, and sticking our heads into a basilica or two.  We snagged front row seats on the vaporetto and cruised down the Grand Canal, admiring the former palaces and buildings with front doors accessed via boat.  We also didn't miss an opportunity to take a gondola ride through the back canals.  Ricardo was our gondolier who has been learning the skills since childhood and has been professional for about four years. 

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Venice was the final stop on our Italy tour.  We took the train to Florence for a fast overnight stay to catch our flights home and celebrated Mona's birthday along the way.  Italy has been wonderful, and if our coins tossed into Trevi fountain are successful, we'll make it back one day.  A few final photos of Venice:

Rialto Bridge