First day in Venice

What a day!

The flights were smooth and on time. On the flight from Amsterdam (I love Schipol airport) to Venice, my neighbour was a charming young man from Croatia who imports and exports metal and travels the world. The journey passed very quickly. His girlfriend is a Brazilian biology professor. He has read the Economist for over 20 years. There was a lot to discuss.

From Marco Polo airport I took the public transport boat to Venice because it stops at Arsenale, the nearst stop to my hotel. It was packed. By chance, I was sitting next to 2 amazing women who met when one taught the other French at classes in London. They come to Carnival every year and were able to give me good advice about what to do and when to avoid St Mark's Square. We managed to pack a lot into the journey. One has recently been to Ethiopia on the very trip Margret (next door) has been recommending to me for Epiphany 2017.

Then to my hotel, which is part of a very old building. It is perfect, with just the degree of quirkiness I love.

I was very tired and had planned a shower and a sleep on arrival. (Cold not too great either.) Impossible! I was straight out to see what was going on.

Did I mention the dense fog?  Very atmospheric and a photographic challenge. Light levels were very low. It kept the crowds at bay.

The people who were out were having a great time and there were smiles everywhere. Near the Doge's Palace I met a group from Crewe Camera Club and saw some of their images. I may meet them at dawn tomorrow.............

It was impossible to choose one image and I'm too tired to attempt much processing. I have Adobe Creative Cloud functioning on the laptop so I'm happier, but it's still a struggle to work on this computer.

Instead of a wonderful mask, I give you the girl with the red eyes. Just in case you think I processed them in - no, they are contact lenses.

Can't wait for tomorrow now.

PS I know that some people were disappointed not to see a masked figure today, so I have added 2 extras. Hope you like them.