Whilst in Croatia we booked an excursion to Venice aboard the "Princess of Dubrovnik"........
The very pleasant cruise took just two and three quarter hours from Rovinj. Upon arrival we walked 2km to St Mark's Square, crossing the Academia Bridge. When we reached the square we were met with the amazing sight of St. Mark's Basilica! The gorgeous mosaics literally covered the church. We would have loved to have gone inside but the queues were long and our time was limited.
Venice is quite simply breathtaking - it has 150 canals, connected by an amazing 409 bridges of which only 3 cross the main canal.
We stopped for lunch in a quaint Italian restaurant and had to try a 'real' Italian pizza.........what a difference to the ones in this country, so mouthwatering!!
Then it was time to take our ride in a gondola. Each gondola took up to 6 people and it was just our luck that we had one jolly person who couldn't resist singing "Just one cornetto" at the top of his voice!!
The temptation was just too much, so I joined in with a quick refrain......much to OH's embarassment!!
. We went up and down very narrow canals with buildings towering up either side of us. It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget.....
This was our gondolier.......and we were unable to make him smile once!
Just time for a few more pics......
.........then suddenly it was time to return to our ship, so we took a water taxi for the 30 minute journey along the Grand Canal back to the harbour.
Although we were only in Venice for five and a half hours it is well worth the trip.