We arrived in Marghera, on the mainland near Venice. We decided to try out "Camping Village Jolly" instead of "Camping Fusina" where we had stayed last time because it was both cheaper and closer to Venice. It was a huge site with lots of little bungalows and buildings of various sizes that could be rented, a pool and even a large restaurant and bar. We were off to one side of the campsite in an area with very few people which was nice. We had a snack in camp and then headed off to Venice to explore it in the evening. Last time we were able to catch the vaporetto from our campsite but this time we had to walk 15 minutes and catch a single bus into Venice. We figured they would have some of the buildings lit up, but we later discovered that very few were well lit and they weren't as impressive at night as they were by day. We enjoyed walking around for a while and then found a pizza place that had a good selection. Tan and I shared a prosciutto and mushroom pizza since we weren't too hungry and were saving room for gelato. Afterwards, we wandered over to St. Mark’s square picking up gelato on the way. We listened to the musicians playing at a café in the square and then headed back to the bus station to head back to camp. We weren’t exactly sure where to get off so I talked to the driver (in my impeccable Italian) and he told me to sit at the front so he could let me know when it was our stop. Dad and I found a spot while Anoop and Tan sat a little ways back. The driver hopped off the bus for a bit while we waited and a few more tourists piled on. One guy was looking particularly confused and we told him the driver would be back. He asked if we were going to the campsite and we said yes and chatted with him for a while. He said afterwards - you can always trust that it will be the Canadian who tries to help out! We arrived back at camp fairly late and headed straight to bed knowing that we had long days of touring ahead of us.

The next morning we headed in to Venice relatively early so that we had lots of time to wander the streets. We headed over to see the fish market but it doesn’t run on Mondays so we went for a cappuccino instead. The public washrooms in Venice cost €1.50 to use, which is the same price as a coffee (although getting a coffee to use the washroom starts a bit of a cycle since you then need to find another café later on…). Anoop didn’t need to use the washroom and instead wandered by the fruit and veggie stands taking some amazing photos of all the different produce for sale. We split up at the Rialto Bridge so that Dad & Tan could check out the Doge’s palace which we had already seen. With a plan to meet up after lunch in St. Mark’s square, we set off to explore. I found a really pretty pair of earrings from a shop selling Murano glass; I really liked them and decided to pick them up while we were there in case I wasn’t able to find them again later. We stopped off at the Boutique del Gelato, place that we liked and had been to on our last visit, to have a treat. Unfortunately for Anoop, his multitasking went wrong as he tried to locate a recommended pizza place on the map while eating his gelato - his second scoop and cone fell splat on the ground. It was a very sorry sight.

After taking a few more pictures and exploring the shops on the Rialto, we set off across Venice to find a pizza place that was recommended in the guidebook. Anoop picked up a slice (he did eventually find the recommended place) while I decided to go to “Pizza al volo”, our favourite take-out place from our previous trip. We sat in the square and enjoyed people watching while polishing off our pizza. Afterwards we picked up some delicious peaches from a nearby fruit stand and crossed the square to another gelato place, “Il Doge”. This one was also recommended in our guidebook and had an amazing selection of flavours. After getting a cone we decided it was our new best gelato joint in Venice, right up there with Vivoli’s in Florence. I had bacio and vanilla while Anoop sampled their berry cheesecake and orange/chocolate combo. Our new faves were bacio (chocolate/hazelnut) and the orange with chunks of chocolate. We continued our walk on the way to meet up with Dad & Tan. Once we met up with them we decided to take them back the way we had come since it wasn’t as crowded as other parts of Venice. The tourists were definitely out in full force in September compared to May. As we were wandering around the skies opened up in an absolute downpour. We ducked in to a bar to wait it out and watch the water pour through the streets. When it seemed to slow a little, Anoop stepped out to see if he could find a shop we’d been looking for. He couldn’t find it and the downpour started up harder than before; he returned absolutely dripping and had to pour water out of his shoes! 

When the rain finally stopped, Venice had been washed clean and there were puddles of water everywhere. We wandered thorough small alleys with lots of bridges and eventually made our way over towards the Rialto once again. We started looking at menus and headed over to one that we had seen the night before; unfortunately, that one was closed. Instead we chose a spot beside a small canal at a restaurant just down from there. It was nice to be able to sit outside and not freeze! Anoop and I ordered roasted chicken with a salad which was very tasty. I had a mishap with the salt shaker and the lid fell off pouring salt all over my salad; luckily the waiter was happy to get a new one made up for me! Dad had pasta cooked in squid ink which was a strange black colour, but he said it was delicious. We then headed back towards camp feeling stuffed and ready to rest our feet!

The next day we set off once again and headed straight to the fish market which we hadn’t seen yet. It was amazing to see so many different types of fish and shellfish all in one place. There were lots of locals out shopping for their dinner as well as tourists snapping photos. We had fun wandering through the stalls looking at the large variety of seafood and reading tags of where it had been caught. We then stopped for a cappuccino at a nearby café. In the small square in front of the café there were some really nice scarves for sale; Tan and I each picked one up so we could dress up our outfits (and warm up) in the cooler evenings. We then went to St. Mark’s since we hadn’t had the chance to go inside the day before. The mosaics are absolutely incredible and it is hard to believe that the entire ceiling is covered in tiny tiles. The floors are also quite impressive and we alternated between staring up and looking down. When we needed to, we stepped off towards the side to let the groups go by while we continued admiring the interior.

Afterwards we headed off by vaporetto to the island of Murano which is known for its glass making shops. We didn’t get to see any glass being blown which was too bad, but we had a great time wandering through all the shops. Each shop has slightly different products ranging from vases to light fixtures to jewelry to animal figurines. We went in to tons of shops hunting for just the right thing to buy until we were tired of looking at glass. Anoop picked up some neat cufflinks and a small clock as souvenirs. For lunch we went to a small restaurant and sat outside to enjoy our piadina and salad. There were some amazing statues made of glass scattered throughout the island and we enjoyed stopping to check them out. After a lot of browsing and purchasing, we headed back to the vaporetto stop to catch the boat over to the island of Burano.

Burano is known for its lace making shops. It was almost sunset by the time we got there so Anoop set off for some photos while Dad, Tan and I stopped at a shop to check out their lace items. The shop was owned by a family; the mom was sitting in the back area making a tiny (approx. 3” wide) miniature scene out of lace. It was a gondola and the work was so incredibly detailed. She was telling me that it takes her 3 days to make one and it was time to stop because her eyes were getting tired. The daughter was showing me some of the different types of lace patterns and which ones would be done by a machine versus by hand. We picked up a very pretty tablecloth with embroidery on it in a nice beige linen colour. The colours of the houses on Burano were amazing, all brightly coloured with no two painted quite the same shade. Once it was dark, we headed off in search of a restaurant to celebrate our last night of camping with the four of us. The first one was booked with a tour group, the second one was also full with a tour group; fortunately the third one had space and a very friendly waiter. The tour group that was there was just finishing up and after they left we had the whole place to ourselves. Dad asked about the fish on the menu and which ones were fresh. He then ordered an “antipasto” with a selection of seafood, a “primi” of pasta with clams and a “secondi” of grilled seafood. The waiter’s eyes just got bigger as Dad kept on ordering! The rest of us stuck with two dishes. Anoop and I both had the “spaghetti vongole” (with clams) as a “primi”. They were really tiny and cooked in delicious sauce! For a “secondi” I had a grilled fish and Anoop had a fried seafood plate. It was all delicious and we enjoyed every bite. In Italy when you order a meat or seafood dish, you get just that on your plate without any garnish. If you want veggies on the side, you have to order a “contorni”. You will see what I mean in the picture of my fish dish. We then zipped off to catch our vaporetto back to the main island of Venice, which was about an hour ride away. Once we alighted, we headed over to our new favourite gelato place, Il Doge. Instead of walking over, we decided to use our vaporetto pass and cruised the Grand Canal for one last cone before heading back to camp. We had a great time in Venice and would definitely recommend a visit to the islands if you have an extra day for it.