Our first stop was only a short 15 minutes to strech the old legs and use the "Magic Room" - this is what our tour guide Simona uses for the toilet.
Our second stop was near the border of Austria/Italy and Slovenia - at a roadside restaurant called "Sudrast Hotel" in a town called Dobratsch. It was another glorious sunny day and this hotel was at the foot of the mountains.
In another 5 minutes, we were over the border and in Italy. I was surprised that there wasn't an instant change in the panorama but the mountains, forests, farmlands of Austria were evident in the Italy that was at the base of the start of the Alps.
I spent most of the long bus ride asleep. When I did wake up the landscape had changed into farmland and truly Italian houses with their Spanish tiles. I started to feel like I was really in Italy.
We arrived at the Venice mainland and it really isn't a pretty site. Our hotel was near the train station and a few minutes away from the Liberty Bridge that connects the mainland to Venice islands.
I am truly disappointed in my room - it's a shoe box compared to the grand Hilton Danube that we had come from. Even the bathroom and shower is tiny. I had to reverse in to use the toilet!
It was then time for dinner and the last time Giordano was going to drive us around until we meet again on Friday. Regulations state that he needs time off from all the driving he's been doing.
For dinner, we went on a boat ride through the large canals of Venice to one of the islands called Burano. As it was a part sightseeing/part transportation trip, we took the scenic route passing St Mark's Square and various other islands before arrivig at our destination. Thank God my acupuncture doctor showed me the pressue point to avoid throwing up because it was NOT a smooth ride.
It was then time for dinner - and what a dinner it was!!
Our restaurant looked deceivingly small from teh outside but it was quite large inside. There were decorations with a fishing theme on all walls and ceilngs. There was even a small replica of the Titanic hanging from the ceiling which lit up.
Then it was time for some yummy Italian biscuits and some almond brittle (similar to peanut brittle but with almonds) adn fresh fruit. Then coffee or tea. Then... well, that was all the food.
When it was time to go back to the hotel, all the shops were closed and there wasn't a sole except us in the street. The sun was in the middle of setting so we took some photos on the boat trip back.
At the bus stop we were pleassantly surprised by our new bus. It was quite modern and had strips of blue and green lights on the celing. All we needed was a disco ball! We wanted to keep this bus for the rest of the tour. Oh, and our new bus driver is Enzo. He is a much older man than Giordano and had no flashy outfit - just the standard uniform of black pants and white shirt.
Tomorrow we are off on a walking tour of St Mark's Square.
PS: Unfortunately, I lost my photos of Burano. They didn't copy over from my camera to my computer and I didn't check until I had formatted the memory card! That's what happens when you're really tired. Luckily for me, Paul gave me copies of his photos and these I have used on this blog.
