It is hard to believe that this was our last full day of sightseeing, so we got up and going as early as we could. When I went to call the girls for breakfast they told me how they had moved the beds last night so they were all sleeping side-by-side in the practically perfect room overlooking the Cannaregio Canal. It must be nearly time to head home. The girls are turning this trip into an international slumber party.

After breakfast we went back to Saint Mark’s Square and toured the church there. We went up to the top to see the original copper horses that once decorated the outside balcony of the building. (The ones that are outside today are replicas, with the originals on view inside the building to protect them.) We did a little shopping with the girls in and around Saint Mark’s Square, and went to the lace shop where the lady in charge described the different laces to the girls and explained how they were all made by hand. She was very good with the girls.

We stopped for lunch at… where? A pizza place! In Italy the choice is either pay a big price to sit and eat, or eat at a high table while standing. We elected to stand for this meal since we were just grabbing a slice of pizza and heading out for other activities.

We walked to the Grand Canal in the area of the Rialto Bridge and took a ride in a gondola, which was a treat for all of us. After that we walked back to the hotel, stopping for a cup of delicious fresh fruit (fruita fresca) for our snack. At the hotel we took a few minutes to freshen up and then took a vaporetto to the island of Murano. (A vaporetto is like a bus in most cities. You get on at one stop and get off at your destination, only this is a boat, and often extremely crowded.)

The nearby island of Murano is famous for its glass-making, and nearly every shop there displayed gorgeous (and extravagant) glass fixtures, vases, jewelry, and decorative pieces. We did quite a bit of window-shopping on Murano before taking the vaporetto back to Saint Mark’s Square and then on down the Grand Canal for a late-afternoon view of the canal. By this time, the girls were getting a bit giggly, and we knew it was time to feed them.

We ate our evening meal at the ONLY McDonalds in Venice, and the food tasted remarkably like the McDonalds at home. From there we walked back to the hotel, stopping for gelato to mark our last night in Italy.

When we reached our hotel we walked to the end of the street, where the canal met the open water beyond it, and we snapped a photo in the late-afternoon sunlight as we ended yet another perfect day.

So, tomorrow we board a plane to take us back home. We are tired, and all of our clothes are dirty, so I suppose it is time to return, but this has been a nearly perfect trip. We have been blessed with wonderful weather, travel companions who never complained and were always eager to do whatever we suggested, and no one has gotten injured or had an accident. What more could we ask?

I will add one final post once we get home, but for now we sign off from Italy…in the sunset…as we bring a perfect trip to a close.