Click, Click, Click...

I was waken up this morning by the sound of bells ringing from the church across the square. I counted nine rings which was a good indication that I should make some effort to get out of bed and prepare for a tough day of sight seeing.

Looked out of the window and noticed lots of people carrying olive branches.

As anticipated today consisted of lots of walking and photo taking. I have took a total of 279 photos in only 4 days and my camera battery ran out today whilst walking through the Piazza San Marco. Bloody typical - it was just as the sun came out too. So I paid a ridiculous amount of money for an additional battery for my camera so that I could continue taking photos. We walked around most of Venice today and now I'm exhausted. Highlights of the day would be the small coffee grinding shop that we came across in the Cannaregio part of Venice, the Vaparetto (water bus) ride through the city and St. Marks square which is stunning.

I have concluded: Venice is a photographers dream and a disabled persons nightmare.

We took the Vaparetto from Rialto to Calle Valleresso which is where Piazza San Marco is situated. The huge square is surrounded by incredible architecture like the Basilica di San Marco, an incredibly ornate building which I learnt is romanesque-Byzantine style built in the 10th century. It houses the body of the St Mark the Evangelist. Right next to that is the Palazzo Ducale which is of Byzantine origin and has Venetian Gothic style facades. From the square we walked, along with hoards of other tourists, back towards our hotel and have now seen so many canal bridges and gondolas that they are all starting to look the same. Tonight we are going to rest our feet and plan for our trip to Rome tomorrow.

We have been eating at small places that sell large slices of pizza for 2.50 euros and sandwiches for just slightly more. Food in restaurants looks wonderful but is too expensive for us to try. I have decided that me and Ali are the worst people to be together when trying to stick to a budget. We are both so weak and can easily justify purchasing a bottle of wine or even an expensive beer at a major tourists attraction if the opportunity presents itself. We need to be spending much less!!!

We came across many situations today which rendered us intrigued and almost frustrated because we were unable to understand. For example, throughout the city we came across several different groups of young people who we have assumed are students, and they all were dressed up in some silly situation being made to read from a large sheet of paper. One guy we came across in the middle of a small square was half naked standing in a bin covered in all kinds of filth holding a bottle of wine. He had an audience of people who were all laughing at what he was saying but we obviously couldn't understand a word he was saying.

What does "Prego" mean. I hear it said so many times and have a feeling that it is the formal word for hello or something similar. I'm always unsure as to how to reply when somebody says it to me.