Catch up from Karlsruhe

We are in Karlsruhe staying with Fridi and Yoshimi. This feels like a holiday from our holiday as we don't have much planned. We have two days in London before flying out to Turkey but that time will be quite busy. We have a long list of things to do! So, finally I might have some time to tell you what we've been doing for the last couple of weeks!

Pisa:
We encountered our first rain since we left the UK. That's over six weeks of pretty much perfect weather. Very nice. It was an absolute downpour in Pisa though. And, it started just after we got off the train. Because of the weather we caught a taxi to the Field of Miracles (as the area where the leaning tower is situated is called). Not that we wanted to see the place in the pouring rain but our hotel was in a square just off there. The hotel was extremely basic but had a great location. Once we'd dried off we went looking for dinner. The restaurant nearest the hotel seemed the safest idea. The rain had stopped but it could have easily rained again. We had fantastic food and then went for a walk around the area. It was wonderfully empty of people. The next morning wasn't too bad first thing but it certainly got busy. It's possible to climb the leaning tower at the moment but we decided that 15 Euros each was kind of extreme. From Pisa it was off to...

Venice:
When I did my Contiki tour of Europe we had stayed in a campsite on the mainland but with access to Venice by boat. That worked really well and the campsite has cabins. Since Italy had proven to be quite expensive for accommodation this seemed like a good idea. And it was! The only real problem was the bus from the nearest railway station only runs hourly and even then was very late. Still we got there. The campsite is amazing. Very well run with friendly staff. They have a pizzeria which does cooked breakfasts (hard to find those in Europe sometimes!) They also have a nice restaurant. Because we'd booked online we also got a substantial discount on the boat to Venice (5 Euros each return rather than 9). The cabins were clean and had heating and linen. Well worth checking out at 13 Euro a night each. www.camping-fusina.com.

So, in the morning we got the ferry across to Venice. The weather was marvellous. On the way across we saw this cruise liner that we keep encountering. We last saw it in Bari and before that in Dubrovnik. It's absolutely huge. I'll have to find out some details on it. There's a big "C" on the funnel and a water slide on the back of it. We must be picking the right destinations if that ship is going to them too! Maybe we should have hitched a lift!

Mel found the best hot chocolate she's ever had in a back street of Venice! Always a bonus!

When we reached St. Marks square the place was awash with water. I think that they'd had a downpour before we arrived on the train the day before and it still hadn't drained. Some parts were dry but in other parts you had no choice but to take off shoes and socks to get past the ankle deep water. Quite a funny sight. I hope the pictures come out. The square is very pretty as are the surrounding buildings. I just wish people didn't feed the pigeons! There are stalls selling pigeon food - madness. Some of the tourists were getting photos of pigeons in their hair and feeding from their hands. Yuck!

We had a good walk around Venice. Did all the usual things and then near the Rialto bridge we enquired about Gondola boat rides. They are incredibly expensive but it's one of those things unique experiences. We weren't going to be back for some time and we at least were holidaying on pounds rather than NZ or Aus dollars. So, we just decided to enjoy it. The gondola took us under the Rialto bridge and then down some of the narrower canals. We went past the home of Marco Polo (again! having seen his place in Croatia!). It was all very beautiful and peaceful down the narrow canals. Then it was back to the grand canal again which is much busier. We really enjoyed ourselves. Just as well really.

We also went to the Doge's palace which is quite spectacular. A bonus was that you also got to walk across the Bridge of Sighs. Luckily we got to walk back again. For those that don't know it's supposedly known as the Bridge of Sighs as that's what prisoners would do as they got there last glimpse of Venice before being locked up or executed.

We stayed in Venice for dinner and caught the second to last boat back to the camp ground. A very successful day in Venice. Mel's favourite Italian city!