Canals with a Difference

We said farewell to David and his colleagues, packed away one form of transport and headed to another.

Erika and I were off to visit some canals of a different kind. We left Orly Paris and flew to Marco Polo Venice on Monday morning.

We decided it was a long way to come to France and not visit another country.

This modern glass sculpture caught our eye on Murano. We also did the tourist thing and saw a glass blowing demonstration.

These chaps are so skilled however I have to say neither of us wanted to buy the chandelier

A high-light for us was a visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. This was housed in what was her home on the Grand Canal. She must have been some lady. A lot of the pieces were collected before the artists became famous and some done especially for her.

This bed head piece is still where it was when she lived here. No longer a bedroom of course.

An early Jackson Pollock

 These glass figurines we made from sketches by Picasso.
The Grand Canal is in the back ground.

It was such an eclectic collection, we could have stayed all day.

There was also a temporary exhibition which blew us away. This artist is relatively unknown, Charles Seliger. His range of works was also fascinating.

After a couple of days we said a fond farewell to Venice......

and caught a train to Florence.

We only had 24 hours here so we were limited to the odd church and the occasional shop!!!!!

This is not a market, it’s a church dedicated to the Madonna. Centuries ago, it was disguised to keep it safe. The interior was amazing.

We have no photos of the shops, only advice.

Girls….come to Florence with empty cases, don’t fly budget airlines (baggage restrictions) and.............. leave the men at home.