Our hostel was in Marghera which was just outside Venice and as we arrived quite late Friday night we decided to just sort out a few hostel bookings, do our washing and go to a local restaurant round the corner for dinner.

Up early on Saturday morning we caught the bus into Venice (only 10 minutes away) and followed the hoards of tourists into the centre. Venice is a very beautiful place and was not like anything we'd really seen yet. Once we'd eaten lunch we headed to Piazza San Marco, the main square which was rammed with people (and pigeons!) but had some amazing buildings to look at. We would have gone into the Basilica and Bell Tower however there was such a long queue we really didn't have the patience to wait, plus we had seen a lot of basilica's already! We then wandered the narrow streets and had a sit in the sunshine with an ice cream watching passers-by. The gondolas looked like good fun to ride in but we couldn't face spending €80 for a 30 minute trip! Next we tried to find Campo Santa Margherita, which had been suggested to us to go to for restaurants and bars with a lively atmosphere. As it was Saturday night it was fairly busy with most people sat outside and kids playing in the square so we enjoyed our dinner there. Before heading back we went to a bar/cafe for a drink of Aperol Spritz which seemed to be the local drink there - not sure we'd have it again but wasn't too bad!

We went out a bit later on Sunday so it was straight for lunch in a less touristy area of Venice. After crossing the Grand Canal at one of the big bridges (great photo opportunity) we found a promenade area called Zattere so sat by the water taking in the views. Next we intended to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Contemporary Art Museum but managed to walk everywhere but there!! We had a coffee and by the time we were ready to set off again we wouldn't have had much time in the museum before it closed, so we didn't bother in the end! We didn't really know what we did all day but it seemed to go really quickly, although we did virtually walk half of Venice. For dinner we ended up on the complete other side of the city, not sure how but at least it's not too far to walk anywhere.

Venice was a lovely place and I really enjoyed just walking around the narrow streets and bridges watching the gondolas pass by. It was definitely one of the most touristy places we'd been though so it was nice to find the quieter areas, especially as it was a weekend too!

Our next stop is Naples which takes about 5 hours to get to on the high speed train, which I am on now! Looking forward to getting South and for some proper sun!!