June 21

Had I mentioned that Italy was hot? Melting hot! Aside from the fact that our vaporetto tickets expire at the same time today as when we bought them yesterday the heat forced us up and to the ferry for out last adventure in Venice. We used these last minutes on our tickets to putt-putt away to tour another part of the canal. As we dipped and swayed across the channel I took those last precious shots of the buildings that are anchored by pilings but seem to be floating.

After landing we walked east or at least what seemed to be east toward a park. There are actually trees and grass on this island of islands. There is also an abundance of trash and the sun was so hot we avoided it with all our strength. It is not yet ten o'clock.

This area was full of normal life. There were clothes lines suspended between buildings across the smaller canals. Little shops and street vendors were available for business. Small ordinary boats were docked along the canals bumper to bumper. Flowers and thick bushes and tall trees filled the park. There were also a few references to man-made art but mostly it was nature and the accumulation of plastic bottles and wrappers of various sorts. We came across a tiny bakery and temptation for some fresh bread pushed us in the door. Finding something really cold to drink is not so easy. Most of the coolers that hold beverages are not run at a low temperature or at least do not keep up to my American standard for a cold drink. This bakery had a cooler and the beer was really cold so we bought one. R is really good at being able to open these bottles on various handily located apparatus. We were not carrying a church key of any style. That cold beer tasted so good with our fresh baked rolls.

The next thing we saw was a floating produce vendor. Part of the entertainment was watching the animated conversation between a woman who is older than me and the vendor. She was really rattling his cage. I wonder if this was her day’s entertainment as well or if she was really planning a cooking session that required the top of the line in products. Everything looked good to me. We waited for our turn. We bought cherries, one peach and a pound of cherry tomatoes. They tasted just fine as we snacked on those and our bread and finished the beer before moving on. After that we came across a grocery store. We shopped for goodies to eat and drink later in the day. I don't remember exactly what we bought but it probably included a bottle of wine, sausage, chocolate and some more bread. With a loaded pack we moved on to the Navel Museum. They had bins for the pack so I was relieved of the load while walking around the museum.

The Navel Museum was a bit cooler than being outdoors but air conditioning was not part of the accouterments. We leaned against the big metal guns to absorb their cooler properties to sustains us through this day that was meant to be one of the hottest of our trip. Great museum. R was especially interested in the early diving equipment. Gondolas, map, lanterns, navigation equipment and ship carvings were certainly worth our time. We also filled our water bottles before leaving. From there we visited the Chiesa di San Maurizio Artemer Versari Collection of stringed instruments. There were also places to sit.

Enough! Its time to go to the beach. We ferried back to camp for lunch and then ferried to another island. The ferry ride was 30 minutes and of course there is always a walk. The walk from the ferry to the beach? 17 minutes. I found a few shells to keep and after 90 minutes we took the ferry back to camp.

That evening we thought we might take the ferry back to Venice for a pizza. Instead we took the ferry to Venice but never got off. The round trip ride on the lower, front open deck was delightfully cooling. Supper was to be our booty from the grocery shop and a bottle of red wine.