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.
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