Italy is Calling

Today we visit Venice. Venice is 1600+ years old and divided into 6 districts. The main transportation is water taxi. All Viking cruise ships are built in Italy, some here.
Downtown Venice is very beautiful but very crowded. Upkeep of homes on the islands is very expensive, sending people to downtown. But there are still islands inhabited by fishermen and farmers who mainly grow artichokes and asparagus.
After my usual cappuccino we headed out to a smaller tour boat that took us to 2 Venetian Islands in the largest lagoon of Italy. Along the way we passed the hand sculpture “building bridges” built by Lorenzo Quinn, son of Anthony Quinn. We saw several beautiful buildings and the gondolas. The gondolas were previously painted and decorated to attract tourists. The gondoliers would sing and it was a romantic experience. Today they are all planted black, the gondoliers don’t sing, or even speak to the passengers.Les mer