Day 2 in Venice- Exploring the City

After a quick stop in our B&B to rest our feet we realized that we only had a few hours left to explore the city and see any of the main sites.  There is definitely so much more we could have seen, but our main plan was to see the Biennale.  We started our tour with a quick stop at San Marco to see the gold guilded ceiling of the Basilica and then headed down the narrow streets, making our way to the Rialto Bridge.  The crowds at the Rialto Bridge rival that of Time Square at rush hour. We skirted it as quickly as we could, taking a quick picture and moving on.  We wound our way around, peeking in a little church here and there, mostly taking in the streets and daily life in Venice.  We hopped on a Gondola to take a little tour of the inner canals.  I really wanted to see Venice from the water.  This little trip was definitely worth the 80 Euro just to see the city from a different view (and to give my tired feet a rest!)  The Gondoliers impressively maneuver the long sleek boats through the narrow and often crowded canals, using everything to steer- The single long paddle, a slight kick off the passing walls and hollering before heading around a blind corner to signal oncoming traffic that we were coming. 

Then we headed home to change and freshen up.  We grabbed a drink at a little bar around the corner and had a nibble.  Justin wanted some Prosciutto di Parma and literally ordered a "small plate" which came as a small plate covered in superbly thinly sliced Prosciutto that basically melted in your mouth. 

We took the water bus a few stops to the neighborhood we wanted to go to for dinner.  The nighttime trip down the Grand Canal was beautiful, peaceful and pleasant.  Dinner was once again yummy.  We were in a quiet neighborhood in Cannaregio, at a little place on a small canal called Osteria L'Orto de Mori.  We shared a bottle of red wine and ate some fresh made pasta with seafood.  The prawns here are just as good as they were in South Africa and I could eat them three times a day!   

We headed back to our B&B via water bus again, heading to bed so that we'd wake up well rested for our trip to Rome tomorrow!