Venezia... april 13-15, 2007

Can you believe there was a train strike on my birthday?!! We had to take the express train that is not affected and deal with unfriendly staff but Venice, or Venezia, was worth it. I really wished I could spend more time there.
I was really sulky at waiting endlessly during the first half of my birthday and poor Xianhong had to endure my grumblings... oops! But things lightened up when we strolled around looking for dinner. This floating city is not exaggerated, all around are people laughing and chatting in streets lined with lovely buildings. Being the considerate girl I was, I chose a cheap pizza stall to eat at so that we can all save for Murano glass... haha! Xianhong sneaked off halfway to buy the cake. I knew something was up but was surprised when Lester whipped out the cake! How did it change hands? "... Happy Birthday to Yanlian..." washed away all the frustration of the day. Wished with all my heart that everyone would enjoy this trip and everyone at home is well and happy! The cake was delicious (Thank you Lester, Lydia, Alwyn and Xianhong) and special, never seen or tasted anything like that back home.

Then we went to Piazza San Marco... There's a band, gorgeous buildings with lights that illuminate the square in a romantic glow. It's so beautiful at night that Lester described a fantastic wedding scenario there, complete with fireworks display! http://picasaweb.google.com/guai.ah.lian/Venice

Murano glass is representative of Venice, so off we go to Murano to shop. The large variety of beautiful and delicate glass pieces dazzled us and choosing what to buy was so difficult! We spent half the day in Murano shopping and also saw an artist at work, manipulating the hot glass deftly to transform a lump into an ornament. We also visited Burano, the island famous for lace, and spied Torcello from afar. I had planned for visits to nearby, less touristy islands to cycle but were cancelled as there was insufficient time and anyway, walking about was already very enjoyable. http://picasaweb.google.com/guai.ah.lian/LagoonIslands

A perfect end to this trip was...
gelato...
and a motorboat ride up and down the Grande Canal. No gondola rides as we are feeling the strain on our pockets with the day's purchases. The setting sun cast a lovely glow to everything it touches...

http://picasaweb.google.com/guai.ah.lian/SettingSun