July 8th: Arrivederci Italia... & Croatia, Montenegro & Slovenia!

Sadly it was time to say farewell today - to our fellow travelers, to wonderful Venice, & to such a fascinating & beautiful collection of countries.
It's been a great tour, visiting vastly different landscapes & enjoying a wide variety of experiences in a relatively small corner of Europe.
Thank you to all those who helped make it a success -our bus driver Damir,  the local guides, excellent hotels & restaurants, but most importantly our travelers - who were cheerful in the face of scorching hot days, border delays, early morning wake-up calls & even my poor estimation of the number of steps!
Henry & I both look forward to traveling with you all again soon - an Alpine New year perhaps, or South Africa in Summer 2018?

July 7th: Venice at Leisure

Our last full day in Europe, & final day in Venice, was deliberately left entirely free for travelers to explore 'La Serenissima' at their leisure.
A small group of tireless travelers left the hotel early for the Rialto market, shopping for foods & souvenirs to take home & enjoying the early morning atmosphere.
Others took the opportunity to rest & rose later, rendezvousing at breakfast.
A large group departed together to walk to the northern side of the city, Fundament Nova, to take the vaporetto (water bus) to the island of Burano, famed for its colorful houses & lace-making tradition.  From there the group split - some traveling on to the Lido, others returning to the heart of the city.
We all gathered this evening for a farewell dinner, complete with music - perfect to celebrate a birthday too!

July 6th: Venice in Depth

With 3 nights in Venice, & lots of free time to explore later, we took a comprehensive walking tour to discover the city & begin getting a feel for it's layout.
Our guide this morning was Francesca, who led us from our hotel & through some familiar areas at first (past Trattoria da Bruno's!) to the Rialto Bridge & our first view of the Grand Canal.  As our tour passed many of the city's top sights, such as the Rialto, La Fenice opera house, St. Mark's Square, etc, Francesca told us about the city's history & also gave lots of tips & suggestion of what to see later in our free time.
Our tour ended at St. Mark's Square, in front of the Basilica.  With express entry tickets we were able to skip the line completely!
Next we headed to a nearby glass workshop demonstration by one of Venice's largest cooperatives.  There we saw a master craftsman create first a delicate jug, then a horse, before throwing both back into the furnace!  A salesman explained the techniques involved before we moved into a showroom where he demonstrated the properties of the glasses, rapping it on a glass table top & explaining the minerals used to produce the different colors.
The rest of the day was free until we regrouped at the hotel this evening for dinner in another nearby eatery.  After dinner a short stroll to our neighborhood square took us to our awaiting gondolas for an evening gondola ride at sunset - beginning in daylight & ending in the dark.  A magical Venetian experience.

July 4th: Lovely Ljubljana

After our brief experience of Slovenia's capital city last night we took a morning walking tour today to discover the city center & learn some of the city's history.
Our guide Minka met us at our hotel & then led us past the city's 'skyscraper', down to the Three Bridges, across the river to the market area & the Dragon Bridge, & then around past the city hall & back across the river.  Everyone was thoroughly impressed with what a clean, civilized & beautiful city it is.  Who knew?!
After a short break we regrouped to ride the funicular/cog railway up to Ljubljana Castle, from where we had great views over the city.  The rest of the afternoon was free - to explore the castle's attractions or have lunch there, to shop the city's boutiques, to listen to street musicians, etc.
We gathered in the evening as usual, this time for dinner in a riverside restaurant in the bustling downtown area.