18 June: Traveled south via mountain scenery into Austria. Here we stopped in Innsbruck where the winter olympics have been held twice. We saw impressive ski jump where "Eddie the eagle" once flew before he was banned by the ski jumping federation in case he should die and give the sport a bad name!
We travelled through the Brenner Pass into Italy, then on to the romantic city of Venice.
Venice is built in a lagoon with canals and arched pedestrian bridges, crisscrossing the city.
This afternoon was the highlight of our tour so far. Our bus group was put into five gondolas carrying 4 or 6 passengers each. A tenor singer accompanied by an accordion serenaded the group as we slowly glided down the charming canals of Venice.
Saint Marks square is vast and surrounded by ancient buildings some containing up market clothing, leather goods and souvenir shops. This evening was to soak up the atmosphere of the square with time to shop planned for tomorrow.