We didn't have very long in Florence. Just the morning before we headed out to Venice. We took a look through a beautiful leather shop with some really fantastic leather coats and shoes and bags. I tried to find a coat that I liked but honestly there was nothing for me.

I joined a walking tour to see some of the sights of the city but we just didn't have long enough. There's leather shops all over the place but I decided not to risk temptation and spend all of what's left of my spending money. I actually found the walking tour a bit disappointing, I would rather have wandered the streets by myself. We made it back to the meeting point in time for lunch and an ice cream before having to get back on the bus.

The trip to Venice is pretty long and we arrived around four thirty. The hotel here is very nice. It's about fifteen minutes out side the island of Venice. Still there are nice showers, nice beds, nice rooms. The door is crap though. It took me a dozen tries just to open the stupid thing. Free Internet downstairs too and a pool. I'd like to stay in hotels like this more often.

At five forty five we took a boat into the city of Venice. It's fantastic. The city around the island is nothing special but when you actually get there its really something special. We wandered the streets for a bit before dinner and the city is exactly like what you see in movies. There are beautiful masks and costumes and glass. I hope I can find something nice to take home.

Dinner was a bit uninspiring but the company was great and there was plenty of wine. I had the fish which was nice but the tirimisu was the highlight of the meal. I even drank the expresso that came with it. Of course I did add a whole bunch of sugar.

The boat ride back was interesting. We shared the boat with two other Cosmos groups and everyone had had a bit to drink and were feeling pretty happy. There were a few wobbles not attributed to the sway of the boat.

We'll be staying another night in Venice so there's no early morning wake up. Sweet!