Who builds a city on water?!

Awesome people, I assume. Venice is amazing!  I absolutely love it. The 3-day vaporetto pass was an excellent investment. I can't get enough of cruising around. I even did a full circuit of one of the lines in the rain and cold Monday night. There's an indoor part of each boat, but what's the fun in that?  I met some nice girls who are studying abroad and freezing to death on that circuit. I'm so jealous of them (not the freezing part - I'm happy that my heavier rain coat had come in handy in the past few days and that when Anne Klein says her coat is waterproof, she freakin means it!). It was supposed to keep raining, at least through this morning, but today was perfect!  Lots of sun, yet still crisp when cruising around on a boat.  I cruised out to Murano around lunchtime after spending the morning at Rialto and San Marco. I went to both in the rain last night, but they were much better in the sun. :)  I also did a lot of wandering through the labyrinth of alleyways and am very, very proud to say I have not yet gotten lost. If you haven't been here, you probably can't imagine how impressive that is. There are some signs but they're cryptic and not predictably placed around the island. I've discovered that the tiny little "WC" signs (for public bathrooms) are a pretty good indication of the direction in which you can find a "major" sight so I think those have done a lot to keep me on track. My feet are killing me again - I had to throw out the gel inserts I got for my boots. Poor little guys were plum wore out. I'd like to get some more, but no luck finding them so far. I plan to go out to one or two of the other islands tomorrow though so that should allow a little extra boat time during which I can sit down if absolutely necessary. And I think I could be perfectly happy cruising up and down the Grand Canal all day!  When I booked 3 nights here, I thought I might do a day trip to Verona, but I can't give up a day on the canal. I'm also a bit gun shy re: the train. I have to take it to Rome on Thursday, but I don't have to tempt fate tomorrow.  In other news, I've sworn off red wine for the duration of my stay in Venice. Based on two experiences, I've concluded that they serve it ice cold here and that's just not working for me. Stuck with Prosecco. Damn. ;)  Pics in next post.