We accompanied the boat's chef to the Rialto Market this morning as he bought the food (octopus) for tonight's dinner. There are 25 varieties of tomatoes in Italy and no stall owner will let you buy tomatoes without knowing what you are cooking so they can advise on just the right type of tomato to use because they all have a different taste and must accompany the right dish.

Walking around the vicinity of the Rialto Market and Bridge you realise just what a busy 'highway' the Grand canal is .

Back on board the boat, I did nothing for the rest of the day. This has not been what I would call a relaxing cruise - very busy days, leaving the boat around 8.30/9.00am and with no time to relax between getting back to the boat and time for dinner. The most relaxing time was in Ravenna when 5 of us spent 2 hours over lunch - very Italian.

This afternoon the boat took a cruise around the islands in the Lagoon - passing Murano, Burano and Torcello. Murano is famous for its glassmaking and has been the centre of the glassmaking industry since 1291. The houses on Burano are all painted in very bright colours and the island is famous for its lacemaking. The church's tower on Burano is tilting - seems to be a common thread in this part of the country (either tilting or sinking or both). It was very pleasant sitting up on the sun deck, having a few drinks and relaxing as we cruised around.

Coming back to the dock, we got a very good view of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute situated at the entrance of the Grand Canal. The church was built in thanksgiving for the city's deliverance from the plague epidemic of 1630. This thanksgiving is still celebrated to this day.

Last day on the boat today. There has been a lot of fish on the boat's dinner menus but the boat's Restaurant Manager has been very protective of me, advising each meal time what dishes I must avoid.