DAY 02: It's very hot.

Yep, it's unseasonably hot here, plus our room is sweltering. We avoided it by running around all day long. First we took the vaporetto to Burano, one of many small islands in Venice's lagoon. It was a charming, but more colorful, version of Venice. The houses are painted bright royal blue, purple, yellow, red, and so on. I got to try Coke-flavored gelato, which is even better than it sounds! We had a great lunch at the Gatto Nero (Black Cat); I got adventurous and ordered grilled eel... even better than Coke gelato! Except for the tail, of course.

In the afternoon we took a lengthy boat ride to San Giorgio Maggiore, which is basically an island consisting of a huge church. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was closing, so we hopped the boat back to Venice for more cichetti. A note about cichetti: you basically walk up to the bar and choose from several plates of appetizers. You may not recognize any of them, but chances are, they're delicious. Between last night and this evening, we have tried calamari, shrimp and scallop salad, tuna fritters, grilled tomatoes smothered in basil, pecorino and herbed goat cheese, potatoes and marinated sun-dried tomatoes, veal meatballs, and deep-fried zucchini blossoms. It's inexpensive to eat this way and you get to try so much. It all seems relatively healthy, as well (save the deep-fried stuff).

We've been using our Italian as much as possible, mostly with old women and shopkeepers (they speak more slowly). It's fun, and they seem surprised that we're from Indiana.

Tonight we're off to the main piazza, San Marco, for dancing... and probably more gelato.

So, anyone else out there? Talk to you tomorrow from our last day in Venice.
ciao, h&s