VENICE, ITALY – We were off to meet our friend at the Lido vaporetto stop on May 30 Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. We alighted at the second San Marco stop in Venice and began our walk to the Rialto Bridge, pausing to poke into a few stops along the way. I found a book on Murano-Burano-Torcello on sale at a little bookshop for only 3 euros.

It’s in Italian, so that will be fun for me to puzzle out. Just above the Rialto Bridge our friend asked her gondolier acquaintance to let the three of us join his trip across the Grand Canal (2 euros per person each way for about a 2-minute ride) with a group of tourists already on-board.

This was my very first gondola ride. The tourist gondola rides are usually upwards of 100 euros for an hour for a group of 5 or 6 people, but this particular gondola serves as a taxi service just to cross the Grand Canal in the same particular spot. It’s faster than taking the vaporetto which would be the alternative unless you’d want to walk ’til you found a bridge somewhere close by.

There were at least 15 people on this tippy gondola which was exciting, but would never happen in America! (no seat belts or life vests).

After our return gondola ride we walked through the Fish Market at the Rialto Bridge.

Anne stopped to buy a new suitcase at a shop nearby.

Patrizia needed to return to Lido to work. Anne and I had planned to have lunch in Venice, but after walking around the Fish Market for a little while and thinking it over, we decided to come back to Lido right away with the brand new suitcase (via vaporetto, of course!).

Saturday at noon on the Grand Canal is a very busy time to be on a vaporetto! We always seem to get the slowest boats (the ones that stop at every stop) and it was hot and we stood most – but not all – of the way back to Lido.

Anne made a beeline for the apartment, rolling her brand-new (empty) suitcase and I stopped at the supermercato to pick up groceries for our lunch. We had run into our friend Daniela at the Lido vaporetto stop – she was just returning from her English class in Venice, with her dog accompanying her on its leash.

I picked up Coke, 3 little sandwiches, potato chips, spicy olives and bread at the market – all the essentials for a quick lunch – for about 14 euros.
And at 6 p.m. we decided to go to the beach (maybe only our 3rd or 4th trip to the beach in a month!) It was a little too chilly for swimming but we walked in the surf and sat on the sand and ate dinner at our favorite little Blue Moon Cafe.

We ordered hamburgers which were cooked right there on the grill with a slice of onion, plus cheese and lettuce and tomato (6 euros each). I had a 1/4 carafe of wine (5 euros) and Anne had 2 glasses of beer (5 euros each). We were charged a cover fee of 4 euros plus an additional service charge of almost 4 euros, so that was an 8 euro charge just to sit there and enjoy being at the beach. We will probably not eat at the Blue Moon Cafe again, but it was nice to be there on this night.

We’ll spend the equivalent of those additional tacked on 8 euros next time at another ristorante for prosecco or some real food! The price of a Margharita pizza is only 5 or 6 euros in most restaurants.

Back at the apartment, we organized for our planned trip into Venice Sunday,  May 31.

We’re first attending a healing service via ferry boat and car in the morning in Scorze, about 25 miles or so outside of Lido, and then we’re going to a concert at 5 p.m. at San Rocco Church in Venice.

When we return to our Lido apartment at 7:30 p.m., our friends have promised to have dinner waiting for us on the table.

Now, this is something we’re really looking forward to!