Venice in the rain.

Today was an incredibly full day.  I am very exhausted and I don't want to short change Venice.  For now I will say that it was very beautiful and I really enjoyed my time there.  Even the slight rain in the afternoon did not take away from the experience.  If anything it added to it.  We have a bus ride tomorrow where I will attempt to catch up with my daily descriptions.

We stop in Verona, the setting for Romeo and Juliet.  We will be seeing "Juliet's house and balcony".  Then we are going into Lugano, Switzerland.  There is a chance of rain tomorrow, which would limit our views of the Alps, so keep your fingers crossed.

More later!  
Update:

First Night in Venice April 22, 2010

We went into Venice proper to take a gondola ride in the evening. We went six people to a gondola, through one of the smaller canals. The sun was just setting as we started, so we had the light of dusk during our ride. Each boat got its own bottle of prosecco, which is the Italian champagne. It was very fun to be floating along the canals of Venice. It was one of those moments where I had to remind myself that it was really happening to me.

We got off the gondola and walked through the winding streets of Venice towards il Piazza di San Marco (St. Mark's square). When we got to the square there were not too many people. It was pretty amazing to see the bell tower and St. Mark's cathedral. I have stayed in the Venitian in Las Vegas...it is nice, but it does not even come close to the real thing.

At that point we had time to walk around the canals. I went off on my own to explore. It was absolutely amazing. I loved the maze of streets with boats parked in the canals. It was quiet, with the lights of the town sparkling around. I was really moved by that experience. I couldn't believe I was really there.

We met the group back at St. Mark's square. We took a water taxi, a bigger boat, on the Grand Canal to get back to the coach. There was one area that was really lit up. It turns out that they are filming a movie with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. Sadly, they were not one of the hidden attractions on the tour. On the Grand Canal we also saw the Rialto Bridge. The whole evening was everything I have ever imagined Venice to be, only more. It was fantastic!