Gondola ride

Joyce has a nice write-up about the gondola ride.  "We had a busy day but I'll focus on our evening ride. We started at dusk and ended in the dark . I never imagined riding in a gondola.  The boat held all five of us. The other  Gondola behind us held some of our Rick Steve's group.  They put one couple in that were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with another couple that were married five years. They had an accordion player, a singer and the gondolier.  They were right behind or next to us so we got to enjoy the music the whole time. The singer had a beautiful voice. The canals are very quiet and beautiful in an eerie way. There is beauty and decay at the same time.I.didn't see any swimming rats which was a great disappointment. It would have been a good story.   The architecture in Venice is a hodgepodge of baroque and everything else.  I don't have the words .  Going on the water in a gondola gives you a whole different view.  The front of the gondola looks like a Viking boat.  The rest of it looks like a black polished Cadillac with gold carvings on it. The gondoliers like to shout hello at each other. One if them took a phone call..funny mix of old and new."