The most expensive Coke I've ever had

The weather today was absolutely glorious. We got into Venice proper around 9:30 and spent the majority of the morning meandering through central Venice towards the Rialto Bridge and on to Piazza San Marco. We had a semi-private gondola tour scheduled for 2:30 and had to be back to the train station gondola pier, so after taking some pics of the square and buying tickets for the Doge's Palace for later in the afternoon, we started meandering back towards the train station by way of the "Strada Nova" and had some fantastic paninis at a small osteria. The obligatory afternoon gelato followed and I had my own version of a gelato Pina Colada with Coconut and Pineapple gelato. Mmmm Mmmmm good.

The gondola tour was OK, but not great. It was hard to hear our guide over her wireless mic (our group was large enough to require 2 gondolas and she was in the other one). There were times when we could only get every other word. Anyway, those Gondolieri are very good at what they do. They can steer those boats through some very tight turns. It's cool watching them go all "Parkour" and use their feet against the walls of the buildings to help with the turning.

The tour ended up back in Piazza San Marco and by then Angela and Michele wanted some coffee. Where else to go but Cafe Florian, where they've been making coffee longer than anywhere else in Europe. This was cool and all, and they're _very_ proud of their coffee, but 55 Euro for an espresso, a cappuccino, a COKE, and a lemon mousse. Now, 18 of that 55 was basically a cover charge (as if that makes it all better), but my 10oz bottle of Coca-Cola was, wait for it, EUR9.50!!!! You read it right: EUR9.50. I realize that coke at restaurants in Europe is pretty expensive, but that's absurd and I don't mind saying it.

The Doge's Palace was really beautiful. One bonus was an amazing collection of medieval arms and armor. The prison cells were appropriately dismal and dark and lonely; and the governmental rooms were appropriately ornate and extravagant.

After going up the campanile and getting a whole different perspective on Venice, we decided it was time to meander _back_ towards the train station and our hotel. We had a wonderful dinner at Taverna san Trovaso in the Dorsoduro district. I had spaghetti with clam sauce, Angela had carbonara, and Michele had bolognese. All of our dishes were excellent and our dessert of Tiramisu and a house lemon cake with pine nuts was similarly delicious.

We have a reasonably long drive down to Cortona tomorrow. I think that we can get there in time for a late lunch if we get out of here by 9am or so. We'll see. Weather down there is supposed to be sunny and 73. Molto Bene.