back from an exhaustingly beautiful Venice!

I have to pick up where I left, so a main highlight back up in Trento was visiting a (very) old monastery which used to keep friars cloistered centuries ago; the most particular thing about the place was its size: corridors were a few metres wide and the large rooms were rather empty or simply decorated, due to the simplistic lifestyle the friars obviously lived. They also grew much of what they ate so to have minimal contact with the outside world. Obviously a lovely church stands out close to the entrance, and if you look closely at the decorative paintings on the round ceilings.. there is a 3-D leg hanging off one man's pelvic area! So, after ignoring a 'PRIVATE' sign and walking upstairs where mum and I met no other tourists... and after being told by a scary friar who walked around the corner dressed in black from head to toe that.. no, we weren't really allowed to be there.. we left to visit more family.

Wednesday, around 7.40pm is when we got home. To my grandma's greatest horror, at 7.50pm we were walking out the door again! Some family friends had gotten together again for us as they were leaving for holidays, and it was our last chance to catch up. The evening was quite pleasant, and a very light snack for dinner was just what we needed.

So, finally catching up to TODAY! Today is Thursday, and we spent it in Venice. We were accompanied by a man who was born there so we didn't waste a lot of time trying to figure out on our own where to go. The glass manufacturing in Murano was amazing as ever (I'd seen it before as a child), the types of things and details these people can create is stunning. Again we walked up stairs we were not supposed to, to find a chamber containing the largest and most expensive chandeliers I've ever seen, with other impressive ournaments. The art of glass making, we learnt, is passed on father to son, there is no school in Murano or nearby to learn it.
We soon walked to a church built in 600AD, which is A LONG TIME AGO, and compared to some others we've seen, it was simple and just as impressive.
Then we split and got lost. And we ran around trying to find each other. And in the end we did. And lunch was at about 2.30 :p we let our legs rest because due to all the walking and the heat, they were letting themselves be heard (or rather felt!).
We then had the pleasure to go for a drink at the Cafe Florian, the oldest cafe in Venice, right on Piazza San Marco. It has been running since 1720! It was also the first cafe in Europe to allow women as customers! Inside the luxury is obvious, the furniture all things you'd think twice about buying for your own house, and paintings of Venetians decour walls. There was even an orchestra playing outside! Indeed, the menu lets you know where you are sitting; a coffee costs about five Euros, and a 200ml juice a ridiculous 8.5 Euros. The waiters are dressed like penguins all day and the service is admirable. It was lovely all the same, something you don't do every day :) oh and may I add that I almost felt like royalty sitting on the red leather in the cafe, with my new jewellery (on top of what I was already wearing lol) and the D&G watch given to me by my godmother! How nice :)

There we are, I think I've noted some of the highlights so far? Have a lovely weekend!