Next in the high paced agenda - Venice

I picked this tour because it seemed a slower pace than others, giving more time in each city. Whilst this is true, it's still exhausting. Each city gets far too little time, most I could easily spend a week in - though that might make the tour a touch longer.

Today was Venice, the city of love. With so many beautiful cities visited, each one has to compete with some tough competition. If you only did Venice, you would not be disappointed. The city itself is very famous for having been built on the water, but what's not apparent from various movies, TV shows, books, etc, is that it's not a big city. When you think about it, I guess it's a pretty obvious fact - despite being built on the water, there's only so much usable space, and the original purpose for the watery foundations have long since become irrelevant. Firstly it was actually built on a series of small island in a shallow body of water, linked together with the construction we recognise today. The original intention of the location is it made Venice very difficult for the barbarians to attack.

I enjoyed Venice, but I'm not sure I'd put it on my must visit list. It's fame precedes it, but with that, it's difficult for it to exceed expectations.

Hey Pisa isn't the only place with a leaning tower. Same reason too - inadequate foundations. Though I think Venice has a better excuse.

Flávio, our guide, has a winged lion called Cimba. Here is Cimba's dad - the winged lion statue in Venice. It does look like parental love there.