Venice

Big day in Venice : Ran along the river and enjoyed the quiet Venice experience ; Buffet Breakfast in the hotel which was overpriced but only 20 metres from our room; Guided walk around the city (great 2.5 hours with a local who gave us lots of time and showed us the less beaten track - we even saw a Banksy and also the worlds largest ‘oil on canvas’ which was also the roof of a church),

Stopped for lunch at an Italian reataurant; Took an extended boat ride around the harbour which Clare loved; had some Gelato and coffee by the sea; More boat rides; got our tourist fix with a Gondola ride around the Canals - and some Aperol then Dinner out to finish the day.

Fun facts, our guide told us that less than 50,000 people now live in Venice and more than 28 million people come through each year as tourists. The apartments have been bought up and used as AirBnbs and have driven out the locals - who have moved to the mainland - either after selling their homes or renting them out for big profit and using this money for their (cheaper) rent elsewhere.

So Venice is basically an Italian historical Disney land theme park these days - which is hard to criticise because we are 4 of the 28 million people who will come here this year.Read more