Day 22 - Hitting the town!

I must preface this post with a few details about our hotel:

1. The most uncomfortable mattress I have ever come in contact with is in room 32 (my room).
2. I require two pillows to sleep, I only had one.
3. There is no air conditioning.
4. The most obnoxious french high school students are staying here.

Other than that, the hotel is great! The breakfast has a few more options than the last. Most importantly they have a cappuccino maker and that is what counts!

We hit the ground running around 10am this morning and headed to a public works company named Insula. On the way we got to see a bridge designed by Calatrava. Check this puppy out:

Insula is a company that handles most of the restoration projects of Venice's waterways. It is so crazy the amount of work that goes into these canals and utility systems. Venice has to constantly make innovations in order to keep their public works working and up to date with society. Here are some pics from the presentation:

A big thank you to Insula! It was very cool to get a more in depth look at how the city of Venice keeps afloat!

After the presentation we had the day to ourselves. We picked up some lunch at a near by grocery store and I was very happy to get some rotisserie chicken and caesar salad. Everyone know how much I love coke and I am ready to get a coke in the states because in Europe it has quite the diet taste to it. Needless to say, I have cut back on my coke intake greatly although most of these guys wouldn't think so!

After lunch, we headed to the hotel to change in less formal clothing and hit the town. We decided to head to St. Mark's square again and the Rialto Bridge to do some shopping. The Rialto Bridge is the first dry path across the grand canal. It is full of shops and people. I will have to say that the market in Florence was a lot better but it was still cool to walk across the bridge and browse. Here are some pics:

The view from the top of the bridge:

And the other side:

Mimi and Papa, can we get one of these "water taxis" for the lake?

I could have been a starving artist in Venice in another life..

Harv, I have not found a violin shop yet but I will keep an eye out for you!

After a long day of wandering through Venice, I think I will eat and call it an early night! I will hate to see Venice go tomorrow. This has been such a fairy tale since we stepped out of the train. We are headed to Vienna tomorrow night. It will be my first experience in an over night train so everyone cross your fingers!

I miss everyone terribly! I will be one happy camper to hug everyone's neck once I am back in the states. With that being said, you all are going to come with me next time I travel the world, right? Ciao!