Venice was great, just like all the pictures we had seen.  Quite a few hagglers and beggars on the street and a million tourists per square meter... but well worth the trip anyway.

We only stayed here for two nights and walked right accross the island twice to the train station, quite a small place really.  Prices are rediculous on the street - $5 for a can of Coke, $8 for a sandwhich... and that's not even in the resterants.

I (A) got an Italian leather wallet, Sarah got a great necklace and traditional mask, we got a great engraving / painting from a local artist and a bunch of other things - we spent more in this city than any other so far :)

St Mark is the patron saint of Venice - not Mark who wrote a gospel but Peter's right hand man.  St Mark's square is the hub of the city with two live bands, hundreds of shops, thousands of pigeons, two museums and a fantastic cathederal.

The glass ornaments are just amazing, we went to the island of Murano where they make it all and saw a glass guitar sculpture (about standard guitar size) for around $50,000... we didn't get it.  We did get some smaller pieces though, very nice.

On to Florence...