Day 7

Today we woke to a very hazy day and prepared for our pre-arranged Venice tour booked from 9am until 3pm.

We met our guide at the edge of St Marks square and she told us about the history of the square and pointed out various landmarks. We walked over to Doge's palace and saw the Bridge of Sighs and Prison of the Venitian Republic.

We then went into the Basilica of St Mark, and marvelled at the impressive architecture and murals. The church is the oldest building in Venice at nearly 1000 yers old.

Before leaving St Mark's square, we watched as the tide started to come up through the drains. At hight tide, the water can be a foot deep in places before receding. Luckily we left before the high tide!

We were then taken to our private Gondala ride which took us through the maze of canals and into the Gand Canal. There were a few times we thought the gondala may tip over but reat assured the gondalear was very experienced.

After our ride we were taken to a Tapas bar for some tapas and wine tasting. It was a neat little place and we enjoyed the traditional food.

We then caught a private taxi boat to the island of Murano. Here we were treated to a viewing of the famous glass making process. We watched part of the making of a vase. The skill and team work of the glass blowers was impressive to watch despite the heat of the ovens. We were taken into the shop but at Euro 3,500, we thought we would give it a miss!

Our private boat then took us back to Venice where we enjoyed a tour of the Grand Canal. We went past some amazing architecture including going under the famous Rialto Bridge.

Our tour finished back at St Marks Square so we walked back to our villa to have a rest. We had a couple of drinks in the piazza below, before eating dinner at a local restaurant.

Tomorrow we head to Rome!