Day 14 (a.m. in Venice and p.m. in Florence):

We started our day at 730am. After breakfast, we set off on a boat which took us to St. Zacchary's pier. Then, we walked a couple of minutes and arrived at the place for the Murano glass blowing demonstration.

It was rather fascinating; the making of the vase and sculpture looked seemingly effortless. Then, the guy gave a talk to sell their products but they were priced exorbitantly. We browsed a little and left the place because we thought that time would be better spent walking around the streets of the city, with the limited amount of time which the tour guide gave us.

At 11am, we met at the designated meeting point and took the boat to one of the islands of Venice, called the Burano island. It was a quiet and quaint town, unlike the city where it was a little more bustling. And the lunch was fantastic. It was local Italian food at its best. My favorite was the freshly fried calamari rings and shrimps, dressed with olive oil and sprays of balsamic vinegar. What gastronomical delight!

We had slightly less than an hour after lunch before we met up with the rest of our tour mates. So, we just wandered aimlessly along the streets. Soon, we caught up with the rest at 230pm and took the boat back to the city. And, we made our way to Florence.

I really enjoyed Venice. It was so different from the rest of the other places that I've seen so far. It had such a unique personality that by just meandering through the narrow streets, walking along the Grand Canal and just admiring every bit of its surrounding, it can be quite a romantic experience, in my personal opinion. And probably, it is also the simple way of life - that, too, justify its attractiveness.

We reached Florence at 7pm. But, the traffic was congested. And it took us another 45min before we reached our hotel, Grand Hotel Mediterraneo. We had dinner and thereafter, went back to the room and rested.