February 29 - March 11, 2008, I traveled with the South Jersey Ski Club to Italy. We flew to Venice and traveled by bus to Val Gardena in the Dolomite region where we skied the are for the week.

On March 8 we left the ski area and traveled by bus back to Venice for the remainder of the trip. From the bus we divided the group of 30 onto two boat taxis to travel the Grand Canal to our hotel, Albergo San Marco right off St. Mark's Square.

In Venice my roommate Gail and I covered as much ground (or water) as it was possible to do in the time we had. We purchased a multi-day vaporetto pass that allowed us to ride the water taxis up and down the canal as well at across the Venetian Lagoon to the incredible islands of St. Michelle, Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

The photo on the left was in Burano, known for its colorful houses, so the fishermen can spot and identify their homes easily when returning from the sea.