Venice

Stella

Day 17 – Yay  today is our first day in Venice so we all caught a bus into the watery part of Venice. Finally, on the way we saw a lot of water  taxis ⛴ When we got there, there was a lot of water  and it’s not from a shower – Oi! get out of there you shower emoji – no not you- you! Ok now, get out of there, get lost, shoo! Shoo! Ok that’s sorted. sorry  but it’s over and done ✅ with.  Hey get out of there! Ok it’s sorted now…phew. I’m glad that’s over 

So when we arrived at the watery part of Venice we started exploring. There were a lot of souvenir shops around selling masks and magnets to put up on fridges. Oh I forgot to tell you teddy came and he was the most helpful, handsome, loved little teddy bear in the world . We went to a chocolate  store, it even had a chocolate fountain, and since Daisy loves glass shops we just had to go into every single glass shop we saw. Today was fun .

Daisy

Yo yo yo Today we actually explored Venice. Oh it was so beautiful  you have to go there (if you can afford it of course).  Venice definitely lives up to it’s standard !🥰 We walked through the winding streets and came across a chocolate  factory. My dreams came true! There was a chocolate fountain! After my hankering for chocolate fountain was crushed by chocolate biscuits we looked in every glass shop in Venice. When I finally found what I was looking for I bought it. I had so much fun today!

Jac

Stella’s been loving our Airbnb and yesterday, when we were settling in, she called out excitedly, “Hey everyone we’ve got the smallest hand basin ever. I had to kneel down to wash my hands”. She’d come across the bidet, which took some explaining, but not before the explanation was turned into another one of Stella’s never ending “butt” jokes.

Milk teeth are the new Bitcoin, and losing a tooth is becoming a serious financial transaction. Daisy pulled a tooth yesterday and wondered aloud “How much do you think my tooth will be worth?”, contemplating what the exchange rate would be if the tooth fairy left Euros. What happened to the days when the going rate for the tooth fairy was 20 cents with no add-ons for an extra white one?

We weaved around Venice today. We combined shopping with seeing the historical sights and trying to sidestep the tourist crowds. There was a cruise ship in so Venice was packed with a sea of tourists wearing blue caps and selfie extenders.

An interesting fact about Venice is that it has the third highest number of Airbnb properties in Italy, which is creating issues for the locals trying to rent properties. I’d love to know how easy it is to navigate finding your Airbnb in Venice, let alone accessing it.
A source of giggly curiosity for the girls today, were the BBQ cooking aprons being sold in the Venice streets, showing a full length representation of the statue David. Stell very practically said that she would just cover up “that area” with tomato sauce! Security will have to check her for a Rosella squirt bottle when she sees the real thing in Florence!

We’re gearing up for Dan’s pre-50th birthday tomorrow, which also happens to be a National holiday! Daisy and I have been collecting some Italian birthday treats – just think Sacher. We are spending the day in Venice and Dan is keeping her ideas floating about how she would like to spend the day, rather than making anything too definite, however I imagine most of the ideas will be water-based.

Dan

Rattle Teddy came to’ Venice On the Water’ today and was ‘over-the-top’ excited!  The household awoke at around 6.30am: a little too early for me, but once the first one gets up there’s nothing stopping it!  After puzzle action (Bresnehans love a 500 piece challenge) the troops were ready and willing to hit the streets, literally!

We spent the best part of today, meandering the alleys and cobbled streets of Santa Croce and San Polo, all paths leading to the Rialto bridge via the one hundred and one glass shops that Daisy visited!  I was so relieved when she finally found ‘exactly the right piece’ of jewellery to buy as her memento of Venice….

Free chocolates, biscuits and more were handed out in a number of the stores we visited – although disappointingly the Cannabis Store Amsterdam weren’t offering any promotional freebies, not even one of their new-range lollipops!

There were architectural surprises around every corner for those of us who were able to look up, beyond and behind the crowds and shops!  The waterways and gondolas were fascinating for the girls; Daisy couldn’t believe that the houses ‘literally floated on water’, and of course she stopped to observe the tourist painting a scene on the banks of the Grand Canal and wished she had her sketching pad with her today!  The good news is that we will be back tomorrow to explore San Marco for the May Day Holiday!