Globus tour June 13 - From Florence to Venice via Pisa

I think I'd always known that there would be days spent mainly on the bus.  This was the first.  We drove west from Florence to Pisa, which, in addition to the cathedral, the baptistry, and the tower,
is chock-full of schlocky tourist shops.  We duly photographed each other holding up the Leaning Tower,

and  Joe lingered over an old motorized bicycle that fascinated him.  Then another drive eastward past Florence toward Venice. 

Actually, toward Mestre - which is on the mainland.  We did not stay in Venice.  The hotel in Mestre is fairly large and its lobby needs some refreshing - it is shopworn.  However, the pool area is very very nice.  We got sort of unpacked (two nights here - yea!) and we definitely refreshed outselves in the pool, then cleaned up and rested, and pretty soon it was time to get back on the Globus bus.  Joe and I had signed up for a special dinner boat cruise on the lagoon.  The bus ride to the boat dock was long, not because of distance but because of heavy traffic.

Once on the boat we all had a very welcome glass of prosecco - different from what I'd had the night before.  Another tour group shared the boat with us.  They were boisterous and happy and full of prosecco.  Sunset on Venice's lagoon is something I am glad I experienced. 

I'd never seen sunset from a boat before, and so far had not seen an Italian sunset at all - perhaps because they are hard to see from the middle of a city. 

Dinner:  the appetizer was a seafood salad; next course was canellonni with salmon, followed by salmon steak and some veggies.  Dessert was a washed-out tiramisu.  Food on this tour has not been exceptional [large understatement] other than the pork dinner last night.  Tonight only the seafood salad is worth mentioning.  The table, however, was lovely, and our companions were fun.

The sole musician on board the boat began to play dance music.  Pretty soon the West Virginia grandparents got up to dance. It was very apparent that they were enjoying themselves and that they like swing dancing.  They put on a good show. 

Someone started a conga line that snaked through the lower deck where we were dining and headed for the narrow corridor that led to the narrow stairs up to the open deck.  No room to turn the line and double back.  What will they do?  Everyone just reversed so that the tail became the head and the line reappeared from the narrow corridor.





We docked near the Piazza San Marco and walked the short distance there.  The evening was very wet with rather large puddles in the pavement, an orchestra was playing in an arcade, little cafe tables and chairs out in the rain were empty. 

Rain was sprinkling, kiosk vendors hastily closing up and trying to push through the tourists, but the tourists were all trying to cluster on the tiny areas of dry, un-puddled pavement.  I was fascinated to realize that the sea was bubbling up from the drains in the piazza because of both high tide and a strong wind that blew off the lagoon toward San Marco.  And the Piazza San Marco would soon be all shallow water.  A unique and nice experience really, because night had come on and the rain was very light and the crowd was sparse.   The entire scene was very unusual.  I fear I may never see the like again.