Venice, Italy

  We arrived to Venice about 10-1030. There is some discussion that after this year ships may have to dock further away. Approaching Venice for us may never happen like this. It was a beautiful arrival, but the mood was sort of ruined by very loud Opera music playing as we arrived. It felt forced and fake. I like quiet or hearing what others are saying- not some lady screaming on a loud speaker. But I digress....Here is what our arrival to Venice looked like.They are building breakers so the water from ships doesn't erode the already sinking Venice. Venice is an Unesco World heritage Site.

                                         See the mountains behind Venice.

                                         Arriving in Venice.

                                         St. Mark's Campanile/ Bell Tower - below

                                          Doge Palace - below

                     St. Mark's Basilica was under refurbishing. The reliefs were beautiful.

                                  Pigeons were in the square. It was quite  interesting to see.

 We walked around and enjoyed the sites. We stumbled upon a Hard Rock Cafe- Venice and enjoyed watching the gondolas, gondoliers and the people loading in them.

                                          Reading on his break time

 We didn't really have the desire to ride them, as 1 person pointed out there are really only 2 good seats in a 6 person and we thought they were slow. We would rather walk around. DON'T ask them to sing (it would be like asking your NY Cab driver to sing) It isn't Las Vegas!
We enjoyed walking along the streets. It did not smell bad, as we had heard, but we were also going in May. August may yield a different smell.

 This is where you can catch a water taxi to another area. Learn how this works. It will save you time and money!

                                         We are medical so we enjoyed seeing the AEDs nearby

                                          or DAEs as they are called in Venice

                                         This is what the highway looks like

 This was a beautiful sunset as we went back on the ship. It was the 1st time we "over-nighted" on a ship. Tomorrow bright and early we will disembark & head to the Dolomites.

at Sea- Med Cruise

Jim was at seminar all day. This was a quiet, boring day for me. I did a lot of organizing and packing. I used up my internet package and I think I did a slot machine tournament. I needed some cave time.

 We did, however, go to Qsine with Susan, Michael (from Alberta Canada), Marilynn and Bill (From Nova Scotia). What is Qsine? Hmmm. Not sure I can explain. It's food made fun. Here is the Celebrity definition: "Qsine^® offers a culinary journey that delivers elements of surprise and delight. Our James Beard featured Master Chef created Qsine to give you something you've never experienced before—on land or at sea. Leave any preconceived notions behind. Dig in and try new things. It's time your palate got a wakeup call. Our iPad^® menus make your dining experience even more fun and interactive."
Here is a look at the menu Qsine menu

You have to appoint a leader for your group and they do all of the ordering. Our leader was Susan but she made us change her captain hat to "Queen".

                                         The Queen will order for the group now....

 Wait! Bill doesn't know what he is going to end up with so he doesn't know what to order- Red wine or white wine? Queen has a solution...both.

We start with Sushi Pops

 and Disco shrimp

Bread and escargot

Crab cakes

We ordered other things but i forgot to take pictures. We liked the Fish and Chips so much we ordered extra.

I think we ordered the kabobs as well? I can't recall- We were stuffed.

We especially liked dessert. Chocolate covered cherries and the waiter suggested ice cream.

Jim loves ice cream I'm not sure this is what Jim had in mind when they delivered it... It is called the silver bullet. I laughed so hard I cried. Jim's face was priceless. Dead pan and stare....

Would I do Qsine again? Maybe. Did I have the best laugh of the cruise? YES!

Off to bed now- I am laughed out and we have Venice to explore tomorrow! Good night!