12. Floating

Nice was nice. It was very much a vacation destination, which made things more expensive. I was not impresed with th Grand Casino in Monaco. Maybe it was because we were there on a Monday night, but it was small and lame. 16 Euros for a cocktail. Sam, our tour manager, brought a few of us up to a rooftop bar. The Aussies were freaking out about the view and the pool and the big chairs. They flipped when I showed them the sun visor on the chairs. And that they spin.

Yesterday we visited Venice. A local guide gave us a walking tour. It was a really good tour. She knew a lot about many different aspects of the city. She also had a really good balance between information dumping and interaction. The pace was also good... not too fast that we could not get pictures but quick enough that we were not loitering.

We went to a glass blowing demonstration. It was pretty cool how confidant the guy was making a horse in a matter of minutes. The Aussies were once again adorable in their sheltered lives.

The bascilica San Marco was lovely but not as expected. It was very Eastern Orthodox inside. The church was quite dark, full of icons, and the biblical figures and frescos and ceiling were done as mosaics. Apparently they used 24 carat gold leaf in the mosaics.

It was 88% humidity and very sunny, so I ate quite a few frozen treats. The shady winding streets actually made it tollerable. I got quite overheated when I went into the church. I had to throw a cardigan on over my tank top to be admitted. If you are unaware, there is a strict dress code enforced when entering major churches in Europe. Basically, knees and shoulders (and everything inbetween) needs to be covered.

The heat made our Gondola ride better in my opinion. It was such a nice relief. I also cannot imagine doing that in the rain. This was much preferable. I rode with five others and we split two bottles of sparkling wine. The gondola ride was only 30 minutes. They were teasing me because as they were all getting photos as we first embarked, I was opening the first bottle. I also didn't bother with a cup because we only had plastic cups. Uncle Nick would be so proud: I got in and out no problem while other girls were shrieking and flailing their arms. Good times.