Have you ever seen such exotic gumboots?! Sarah thought they were great. My sister seems to think that they are pretty cool too! 

So this is a different way of displaying fresh produce. I don't think I've ever seen it all in the windows like that before. 

So this is incredibly Venetian. Streets of water and bridges to cross. 

Ok, thought that I missed a day. This is the place that we eventually settled into. It was right near the Rialto Bridge and just what we were after (always better to get accommodation in Venice as opposed to Mestre). 

This was a whole tray of tiny little figures made of glass. They were so cute. But the glass work was just amazing. There seriously is nothing I've ever really seen that is quite like it. 

Murano is definitely cleaner and less crowded than Venice. It has a more peaceful feel, and, if I had to pick, I'd probably prefer here. 

The bells were tolling as we passed this, but thankfully not for us! 

The trip to Murano is a good 30-45min ride on the vaporetto but it is definitely worth it. 

On the way to Murano, where the famous glass is made. 

Rose stucco, and blue gondola covers. Yep, that's it! 

A city surrounded by water. It's incredible really. 

The day before had been so foggy (kind of like potato soup) that they wouldn't let the boats go out to the islands at all. Thankfully this day it cleared up and we got to take some good photos too. 

Classic Venice! Gondolas, water, the whole deal! 

Kind of cool to think of these bursting open in a powerful earthquake, huh? 

Nice beds, hey? 

Imagine staying in here. 

Walking down the hallway past so many rooms. 

And from the palacial surroundings we went down into the dungeons. At the time I was reading Acts, about all the people that were in prison. It was kind of like history opening up before you. 

So here is another one of those great ceilings. This one I got in trouble for taking, "No photos please." They had so many great things in here that I would have loved to take photograph, like big huge room-filling globes and all this incredible art but I guess they are afraid that people will do forgeries or do recon for stealing them or something. But at least I got this! 

Oh, but the really had the most gorgeous ceilings. Who bothers to make great ceilings, who ever looks up? But they were really beautiful. (But on that note - if you ever need to hide the best way to do it is go up, most people don't look above their heads.) 

This and the other stuff was in the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale). The Doge was a big head honcho guy in Venice they built stuff in their own honours and decorated their rooms to commemorate their victories. They were really big on telling people how great they were in those days. Come to think of it, nothing much has changed. 

So this was a really weird thing. People could post messages that anonymously implicated people in unsolved crimes. Apparently the had a pretty good investigative system, so people weren't just randomly thrown away because of it, but how interesting is that?! 

So have you ever heard of this guy called Atlas, the weight of the world on his shoulders? Well this is him. I'm just glad it's not me, but it really is totally unnecessary, I know the person who has it all in His hands! 

An old gondola boat. It was really beautiful. We didn't actually go on a gondola ride because they cost something like 50 euro, which is an absolute waste of money! 

...there's nothing there! Hmm, I wonder if they leave it like that as a political comment.