Breakfast with Jackie and Stewart and another new couple from Boston. Traded Venice and traveling stories and we were on our way.

Today we headed out to the island of Lido, a beautiful resort island containing public beaches, a casino, and many fine shops and restaurants. When we arrived via the Vaparetto, we took off for a walk. The air was warm and salty and the scenery was beautiful. Like Venice, Lido had its share of apartment buildings designed in the typically Venetian style, but it also had some nice looking homes.

We wandered down by the beach and found the idea of beach huts to be novel. We didn’t bring our swimsuits but walked down to the beach, and it looked like any other beach of swimmers and sunbathers, except… wait… could it be? Are Mark’s eye’s playing tricks on him? Has he died and gone to heaven? No, it’s true, this was a topless beach! "Where’s my telephoto lens?" he exclaimed. "We didn’t bring it," smiled Dora. "What about the binoculars?" he gasped. "Back in California, dipstick," Dora giggled. DAMN! After Dora finally dragged him away, he felt like such a boob for gawking. Ah, Europe.

Had a very nice lunch at, what else, an outdoor café, and decided to work it off by pedaling around the island on a bicycle carriage. Loads of fun!

We headed back to Venice near sunset, the perfect time for a gondola ride. So we did… take one that is. Snug in our gondola, we were entertained with tunes and interesting stories and facts by our Gondolier Paulo. We careened through the narrow side canals, passed by and waved to other gondolas, saw where Mozart once lived, headed out on the grand canal, and waved to passersby as they cheered at us and took our picture. What a wonderful, romantic, and unforgettable experience. Thank you Paulo!

Back to the B&B and to bed after another exquisite day.