We've had another wonderful day in Italy--a three scoop gelato day for me. We decided to throw all caution to the wind and get on the vaporetto again today and head for Murano which is where all of that glass in blown. This time Deb and I decided to make an "Ann sandwich." We figured we'd put her between us, so that if she got stranded, at least one of us would be with her. That worked beautifully! We spent most of the day in Murano, watching a glass blowing demonstration for a few minutes and then shopping the rest of the day. (Ann is definitely going to buy a bigger suitcase.) We were in so many stores that we gave them names. The most memorable was the "crabby people" store. They had all these beads in little baskets, but apprently customers weren't supposed to look through them. The man would make comments. He especially didn't appreciate it when Ann looked through the whole basket and found nothing she wanted. Deb found a nice bead that Ann did like, but it was in the middle of a string of beads on a rod. When Deb started to unscrew it, the man ran over and yelled at her. He did take it off for her, but he was mumbling under his breath. Ann picked up an ornament, and she asked the man if it was a Santa glass blower. He said yes, she bought it, and then she later realized it was a Santa blowing a horn. Then Deb backed into glass shelves which had hand blown Christmas ornaments on them. I was afraid to turn around and see the expression on his face. He seemed very happy to see us leave; however, Deb and Ann would not leave well enough alone. After looking through ALL the shops in Murano, they decided they liked the "crabby people's" merchandise better. Once again, they were digging through baskets of pendants. The crabby guy came and asked how many they were planning to buy. Deb said, "Oh, lots!" Total purchase: $5.00. Oh the mumbling and grumbling! That was our cue to leave Murano. I was bound and determined to have gnocchi carbonnara, and we found a restaurant yesterday that I wanted to try. It took us FOREVER to find it again, but we did, thanks to our chief navigator, Deb. It was an uneventful lunch except I had too much wine and Ann got herself locked in the restroom. Luckily, a cute Italian man heard her and helped her get out. Jen, your mother is eating lots of pasta, pizza and gelato. She's even talking about giving up her gym membership. We had a special treat this evening. One of my e-mail buddies that I met through Rick Steves’ web site happens to be here with her friend, staying at this very hotel. We all got together for a walk around Venice, a vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal—and one last gelato. It was such fun! As we were walking, I wanted to absorb as many of the sights and sounds of Venice as I possibly could. I LOVE this place, and David, I will miss it too!