My Venice gondola trip

I am so glad I splurged and took my gondola ride recently when I was in Venice. 80E! Gasp! But well worth it. It was my first day in Venice and I was feeling impulsive and a little irrational, so I figured I'd better do it before I changed my mind. I realized I wanted the experience and recognized it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Once I decided, I slipped back to my hotel for a quick pee and to pick up a small bottle of wine. Here's my gondalier as we set out...
OK, my pics are out of order... but this was my view pulling back in at the end of my ride...

Now for the trip itself, it was pretty cool to be on the water with the other gondolas...

Venice from the water as the sun is easing towards the end of its day...

This seagull was posing for me!

One of the neat buildings in Venice....

Mozart stayed in this building (if you click on the pic you can see the plaque on the building in the enlarged view)...

About to go under a bridge on a little side canal...

There are a tight corners in the maze of little side canals, so this is how they keep aware of what's coming...

Pretty little canal...

The view as I was leaning back watching the world go by...

This is the Opera House...

This is what it looks like to emerge from under a tunnel...

Another pic out of order... this was when we first left the Grand Canal and began our trek through the little side canals...

My "real" view as I sipped my wine...

My gondalier waving goodbye at the end of our journey... He's a true blue Venentian. Said he tried to leave once, but came back. He owns his own gondola, and they are feeling the economic crunch... and their cost of living is double anywhere else... but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

The pictures hardly capture the magic of the moment, but the memories will live on. Overall, the experience was awesome and a definite trip highlight!