Everybody was up early, me in particular as I had an upset stomach. Just what I needed for a day of tripping around :( Dianne has given me this medicine to take, and I am not sure what is worse, the medicine or the ailment.

Never the less, as risky as it was, we needed to move on. We made it to the bus stop in plenty of time, which is what the plan was. None of us are much good at reading Italian bus timetables, they are totally foreign to us. We figured if we got there earlier enough, a bus would come along that seemed ok. As it turned out, our faithful no 30 turned up on time, and before we know it, we were loaded and on our way. There were two young blokes sitting opposite us at the bus stop, and they looked like they had one hell of a party. They got on the bus, but had no ticket. The driver doesn't carry money or tickets. He was very good to them, and stopped a while later down the road at a small store, so they could purchase their tickets.

The trip took just over an hour, as there were many pick ups and drop offs, but we got to Como station with plenty of time to spare. More importantly I made it to the next WC, and for your info, they were first class!

Our train to Milan arrived on time (and I must say, everything in Italy we have been on, runs on time). Our journey to Milan, was once again very comfortable. We had an hour and 1/2 to spare, before we had to leave Milan for Venice, so we decided to have breakfast at a small café in the station. I also had to find the WC. It took me ages, but I finally got there, only find that I had no money to get in! Back to the café, to get some money. I made it, just in time!

Finally, we caught our train. The train was very long and packed solid. Venice must be popular. The trip was comfortable but uneventful. (thankfully) We made it to Venice at about 3.15pm. When I got out of the train station, I could see the Grand Canal. I really did not know what to make of it, as there was simply too much going on.

As with all our other B&B's we had instructions on how to get there, and so far our success rate at getting it right the first time leaves a lot to be desired. Our first instruction was to get water Taxi 1. Our first mistake was to ignore our first instruction. We ended up at Rialto, next to the Rialto bridge, on the wrong side of the canal. This meant carting our bags and the kitchen sink to the other side. Sounds easy, until you see the number of steps on the Rialto bridge! Then of course there is the same number to get down on the other side! You could hardly call our first encounter with the Rialto bridge romantic. We then walked up to San Sebastian to meet our land lady. We arrived, and Dianne phoned. Then we heard the land ladies phone ring behind us. We all had a good laugh.

It wasn't long before we were in our unit, which was just around the corner, up 3 flights of stairs and no lift. :( By this time we were getting sick of our luggage. When the land lady opened up the unit, we were simply amazed. It was very good, and I think recently renovated. Very modern, spacious, and all the mod cons. It is even good to see the original beams in the roof. (if they could only talk).

We unpacked, and then did not waste any time to get out and see Venice. Brian and Dianne were here about 10 years ago, and vaguely remembered how to get to San Marco Square. That was our first stop, and like the Duoma in Milan, it was very worthwhile. I have posted a couple of photo's, but really seeing it in real life can only give you the true feeling of the place.

After we saw San Marco, we slowly wound our way through all the small streets, back to the street our unit was in. Up from the unit was this very small (and reasonably priced) restaurant. We all shared a couple of pizza's and had drinks.

Quite frankly we were exhausted. It has been a long day, and bed cannot come quick enough.

Tomorrow we will tackle Venice a little more seriously.