Shops opposite the place where we wait for the water bus.

Up at 7:30 am and down to breakfast in our hotel. The breakfast room is small and the choices not so nice as Praiano or even Florence, but it will do. Today is the first time we are using the water bus, so we spend a long time reaching our destination because we are not quite sure what we are doing. We made it to the Ghetto by 11 am and by then the temperature must have been in the high 80s or more.

The other two couples go off on a tour of the synagogues in the Ghetto. Alan & I stay in the square to buy beads for Alan’s daughter’s jewelry making.  Then we sit in the shade and have a cold drink until the others return so we can “do lunch.”

We find an Israeli restaurant on one of the streets nearby. It is called Gam Gam & the waiter is very personable. He came to Italy and loved it so much he did not return to Israel.  His English is excellent and so is his sales pitch. We order way too much food! It is good but more than we need; also a nice change from Italian food.

Take a different taxi route back to the hotel: feels cooler.  The other couples stay to shop. Rest and dress for the evening. Just Alan & I go to St. Mark’s Square to have a drink and listen to the two groups of musicians performing out in the open on two “bandstands” close to each other. Quite interesting the way they take turns playing, so we can enjoy each group and not have them both play their music simultaneously. Drinks are very expensive because we are also paying for the entertainment.

(One of the water buses we took on our way back from the ghetto. This is a transfer stop.)

There is a central marketing area in Venice. Here is one of the many open air shops with a large array of fruits and veggies—unrefrigerated! I bought some fruit for snacking. Other food shops and restaurants are also nearby, as well as kiosks of gifts & souvenirs for tourists.

We return to the hotel to meet up with the Rhoda & Kal and Jackie & Irv. The restaurant tonite is one near the main theater where concerts are given. This is another garden restaurant, and while the food is good, the service is not. We return to St. Mark’s Square with everyone for gelato. Then Rhoda still wants coffee so we find a café very close to the hotel.

Finally back at our hotel for the night. Need a hot bath because I have a pain in my lower back. Put on some Tiger Balm and went to sleep.

P.S. I found several lines of laundry in Venice. Most of them were hanging over a canal. What if you dropped your clothespins and the item went into the water? Here’s one example>>>

Note: While the evening is cooler, it is unseasonably warm in Italy for May. Could it be global warming?

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