Monday in Venice

 We fortified ourselves with a delicious breakfast at our little hotel before setting out for St. Mark's Square, probably the most famous plaza in the world. You will see below a couple of shots of the square as well as the astrological clock tower which stands on one side of the square. Although we didn't stop by today, we did note the location of the famous Harry's Bar as well as the oldest coffee shop in Italy, Florian's, which has been in continuous operation since 1720. You will recognize the Bridge of Sighs in the next photo.  Nearby we took the vaporetta to the peaceful island of San Giorgio with its wonderful bell tower from the top of which you can look back across the water to St. Mark's Square. We ate lunch on San Giorgio before taking the vaporetta the full length of both the Giudecca Canal and the Grand Canal before returning to St. Mark's Square. Along the way, we saw elegant palaces and various hotels, working boats and gondolas, and everywhere arched bridges crossing the myriad of small canals which run into the main thoroughfares.