The town of Quarto D'Altino, near Venice

Local Elementary School

War Dead Monument

the town Plaza, facing St. Michael's church.

The last day in Venice was spent not in Venice, but chilling out at the small town of Quarto D'Altino, which was within walking distance of our Crown Plaza hotel.  The hotel, next to the train tracks into Venice, was perhaps half a mile into town,  so we walked there, and enjoyed lunch near the school. After lunch, window shopped.  Like many other places, between one P.M. and four-thirty P.M. (1300-1430 hrs), businesses shut down, with the exception of some eating places.  Later that evening, I went out and brought back a  pizza and a 1.5 liter Coke, spending all of ten Euros.  Lunch was 15.5 Euros.  The train into Venice would have cost more, without eating, and frankly we were beat after all those 10 places in 12 days where we saw enough ruins to last a lifetime.  That of course, doesn't count the ruins left of my checkbook.  Ratings:  Best big city: Barcelona.  Best place whole trip: Mykonos, Greece.  Worst: Rome, where crowds were horrible, following two hour bus trip from port.

Take aways:  Venice was lovely, as was Barcelona.   Tuscany, where we tasted wine in a 900 year old castle, was a place I'd return.  Had fun with our friends Ann and Simon, and Simon and I toured Toulon, France where the French Fleet is based and we visited the Naval Museum.  The Corinth Canal was spectacular, and I am glad I passed up Athens to journey, by boat, between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea through that impressive (finished in the 1800's) cut that must have towered 150 feet.

The museums, palaces, Vatican, etc. were impressive, but next time more time shall be leisure, less time paying to ride buses and listen to tour guides accents.   Best comment from Simon about a tour guide was priceless......"she moved faster than a rat up a drainpipe".  You gotta love the English!