Venice was definitely the place I had been looking forward to the most as the trip has been going along and it both exceeded my expectations and didn't live up to them in different parts. The first thing that took me by surprise was how filthy the water was, and I realised how silly my hope to jump in a canal to escape from the heat was. The second was the size and frequency of the canals, of which I had thought would be as numerous as our roads and much bigger, but I really liked the flow of the city nonetheless, with canals combining with little paths through the layers built upon layers of housing, to create a sprawling maze that was lovely to wander through.
I've decided if I ever become a rich multimillionaire Venice is the place I'm going to go, buy myself one of the mansions across the grand canal and host masquerade parties all night long. And a super yacht. Can't forget that. But seriously, the opulence of some people in Venice was jaw dropping, and it was mirrored in the prices in the shops. Highest price for an individual item was a $100000 gold necklace, but I thought it was a bit outside my price range sorry mum. Even their church screamed wealth, with almost the entire roof covered in gold mosaic because the architects had too much that they didn't know what to do with it.
Atm we are enjoying the lovely weather of beaucaire while swimming as much as we can and are leaving for Paris tomorrow.
-Hamish
