Italy Day 11 - Venice (02 May 2007)

The day started at the hotel for breakfast. The process for getting ready took a little longer than usual since the room was so small (you had to in outside just to change your mind.) Seriously, the bathroom barely had room for one person. After breakfast, we walked to San Marco square and got in line for the basilica. It looked to be a long wait, but we found a guide that would give us a tour of the museum and church for €10 (the museum normally costs €3) which let up jump to the front of the line. Our tour took about an hour. Afterwards, we saw the Pala de Oro (Altar of Gold) which cost €1.50 each. Next we went into the treasury (€2 each.) We left the basilica and found a pizza place for lunch. After eating, we wandered all over Venice. During one shopping stop, it started raining. It varyed between a light sprinkle and a total downpour. We donned our ponchos and continued. We eventually made our way to Campo Santa Margarita. We'd been told there was a place for the best gelato. We found Il Doge, which turned out to be excellent. The gelato was good and very well priced. Another strong recommendation. We dropped into a market across from Il Doge and bought some olives and water (water was €0.34 per 1.5 liter bottle.) We splashed our way back to our hotel and dropped off the ton of water, them headed out for more shopping.