At last I am back in Venice, (mentally, not physically) writing about the rest of our final day there.
Venetian attire for a football game.
After our tours and icecreams we stopped to enjoy a game of football, played by youngsters dressed for the theatre, or perhaps this is how the youth of Venice always dress for their games.
We then headed back towards the hotel and as we crossed one of many bridges I recognised the restaurant where, on my previous trip, I had
Our restaurant is on the right of this canal.
dined with my husband. He has been dead for five years so it was with some trepidation that I went back and sat at the same table, hoping for a meal as good as that previous one.
Sue rarely drinks beer, but this called for a celebration.
The ambience was the same, the waiter as
Lovers in Venice
charming as before and the food equally delicious. The view from our window was even more entertaining. In another country I’m prepared to be a people watcher and not be concerned about capturing a beautiful moment.
Our only smiling gondolier
Catching a gondolier who was prepared to smile, was rather more difficult. I guess business must be sparse as most of them scowled at us when we waved cameras for a smile and a wave.
I don’t remember what we ate, but that wasn’t important when we were so engrossed with the passing performance.
We had a few hours to spare before the ‘big event’ and as yet I hadn’t bought the special birthday piece of
Murano glass posted to Perth.
Murano glass that was on my list for a certain lady’s big 50 occasion, so we made our way back to the hotel via the narrow streets, filled with tourists like us, admiring 
more of the glamorous masks, exquisite dancing shoes and exotic underware on display in the windows of exclusive shops.
The small streets of Venice are easy to get lost in, especially when one is carried away by so much extravagance. The city is expensive, but we had to wonder who could afford the sort of luxury items on display.
Our costumes for the evening’s performance were definitely not in this category, but I had carried our masks from Australia and was determined that we would dress up for the occasion. La Traviata, performed in a Palazzo, was the highlight of our time in Venice. I had booked it from Perth, with help from the concierge. The Palace was really just an elegant old house, not very large, but with rooms that catered for the audience of about sixty guests.
We are ready for La Traviata.
We began in the parlor, with Violetta, the famous courtesan, entertaining her guests and offering glasses of champagne to several lucky ones. (We, the audience, played our parts as the guests.)
We then proceeded to a hallway, where champagne and canapes were supplied to all of us. The second act, the operatic drama with the father of Alfredo, (Violetta’s lover) took place in another room which was presented as part of a country house near Paris. For the ending, where our heroine died, we sat around an alcove decked out as her bedroom, watching and hearing the sad couple until her finale.
All completely over the top of course, but wonderful voices and a fantastic ending to our time in Venice.