Italian Holiday


Colin (brother) and Chris arrived on the 30th June to stay at our farm, while we spent a week in Lido de Jeselo, Italy.  After an evening meal we left to stay at Dublin Airport's Travel Lodge.  We caught an 8.30 am flight and after the flight and a three hour coach trip we arrived at the Portofino Hotel in the late afternoon.  The weather was hot at 31C  and remained about this temperature until Friday when it cooled to 28C.

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The hotel was perfect: clean, air conditioned, good food, free wine, swimming pool and located next to the beach and shops.  The next day we relaxed beside the pool, ate lunch and sunbathed on the beach in the afternoon, followed by a giant italian ice cream.  In the evening we ate dinner and strolled along the shopping street.

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The next day we left for Venice by coach/water bus.  We had a guided tour of St. Marks square and the surrounding buildings.  This was followed by some shopping and a snack in a nearby cafe.  The shopping was disappointing as every other shop seemed to sell masks!  I was searching for "bad taste" plastic gondoliers, but I only found them in one shop.  In the evening we spent an hour on a gondolier.

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Afterwards we ate at a MacDonalds (tradition whenever we go abroad).  Finally, we caught a water bus which took us around Venice via the Grand Canal.  We caught another boat at ten which took us back to the mainland, where we caught our coach.
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