Vernazza, Italy - alley to our hotel room.
Garden terrace of our hotel overlooking the Mediterranean.
View from the garden terrace.
100 steps led to the front door of our hotel room.
View of Vernazza on the trail to Monterosso.
The hike from Vernazza to Monterosso took us 2 hours. It was a very hot and humid day.
Monerosso beach.
A view from the first restaurant we stopped in on to the trail that took us to Monterosso.
One of the very few good meals we had - fish ravioli with shrimp.
Bouganvilla in bloom.
Beach day in Monterosso.
This sculpture is actually made of concrete and is part of a private club.
Close-up of concrete sculpture in Monterosso.
A nice day at the beach...
It would have been nicer, had we not witnessed how a man collapsed from a heart attack and died on the beach of Monterrosso.
Maps of the area in Monterosso, close to the train station.
Map detailing the Cinque Terre Nature park and trails.
Riomaggiore - we couldn't figure out how they lower the boats into the water given that the surf was very rough.
Another view of Riomaggiore.
Best campari we had at a self-service bar in Riomaggiore on the trail to Manerola. The view was spectacular.
The trail of love - Riomaggiore to Manerola tunnel.
Lovers will attach padlocks to these benches as a sign of their everlasting love.
Vernazza, view from the castle tower.
Swimming was definitely out because the surf was very rough.
A view of the Vernazza castle tower.
Lunch in Corniglia - cold potato and octopus salad. It was one of the better meals.
The view of the coastline was really beautiful.
Main street in Vernazza.
On the way to Venice - trains are more late than punctual.
Venice - we took the nr. 1 vaporetto (a boat) from the train station to La Salute, a 40-minute ride. This is the Turkish Fondaco Exchange building and one of the oldest houses of Venice.
Views on the Grand Canal.
Ca' Pesaro -it houses the international gallery of modern art.
We didn't hear any gondoliers break out in song.
Rialto market.
Market gondola.
Rialto Bridge
Gondola rides can set you back 80 to 100 Euros depending on the time of day and your negotiation skills.
Ornate gondolas can cost between 50,000 and 80,000 dollars.
One of many fancy door knobs and door handles in Venice.
One of the huge cruise ships passing by at the end of a quiet canal.
La Salute church in the evening sun.
A whimsical door handle in a small alley of Venice.
Some of the door bells were quite fancy too.
St. Mark's Square.
The facades of buildings on St. Mark's Square reflected in a store window.
The Basilica of St. Mark's rooftops.
These Venetian masks were being sold everywhere.
Lace umbrellas in Venice.
One of many bridges crossing a canal in Venice.
An elderly lady pan-handling in front of a big yacht on the pier.
Whimsical poster part of the bieannale art exhibit.
Form-fitting chairs in art store.
Pond at the entry of an art-exhibit entitled "Floating in Uncertainty". Made me want to set the gold fish free...
Shiny door bells on Venice building.
The pigeon and the lion - there is a fable in the making.
Venice by kayak
More masks on display.
B ended up being transported in one of these boat ambulances to the hospital.
Waiting for x-rays.
Uscita means exit.
First-aid traumatology department in Venice hospital.
The inside of one the hallways in the more historic part of the Giovanni e Paolo hospital in Venice.
This hospital actually looks nice from the outside if it weren't for the fact that we didn't actually choose to go there.
This summarizes how everthing went for us while in Italy.
Whimsical door bell.
Not only tourists get trapped in Venice....
More hospital pictures of the hallways. Trying to get a hold of a pair of crutches is an adventure in itself.
Gondoliers at the end of the day relaxing by one of the canals.
These are the illegal street vendors in Venice peddling counterfeit handbags to tourists. It's illegal to sell them - it's illegal to buy them.
Illegal handbag peddler in front of Gucci store in Venice.
