It is our last day, on foot, in Venice. To-morrow we activate our 7 day Veneze Unica card which allows us unlimited daily travel on the Vaporetto and buses that we will need to get out to the Lido and Eracle Mare for the orienteering events that begin in on Friday. We decided to only have a small walk today, rather than the series of 6 hour Metrogaines that we have been conducting since we arrived in Sienna, now almost two weeks ago.

So, today it is just a short walk, across to S. Croce and S Polo, with an interest in the Friary of Santa Maria Gloriosa, and the chance of Gregorian chants. As per schedule, the next performance is the 17^th, the day we leave Venice.

We did find a wool shop and Nonna Ilze was happy with her purchases.

Pete found his Crostini shop and was happy with his purchase, 2 grilled pomodorro, 1 gorgonzola with anchovy and one radicchio with crab.

See, it is about the small things.

Then the hunt began in ernest, the evidence had been obtained by the careful accumulation of small facts from several of her books   ”………..Brunetti descended in to the calle and turning left hurried down the calle del Forno to the traghetto where he knew Foa would soon have the launch waiting.” So a careful back track and there it was, four stories high and with an illegally added fifth with a terrace “from which, as she gave her attention to the night sky and the still lit campanile of San Marco, Paola said. ‘We couldn’t live any-where else, could we?” “Probably not” said Brunetti.

See Pat and Allan Miller if you need further details. There has still been no sighting of Signora Elettra but I am enjoying the search.

Mission complete, it was back over the Rialto again, and home for another part of my heavy training schedule in preparation for the great race. A small nap is a vital part of the “tapering off.” After dinner, just a “small grappa” before bed, after all it is getting down to 4C over night and these waterside stone edifices are hard to heat. I wasn’t going to buy a bottle, with only a week to go but Ilze, a G&T girl, has discovered she quite likes grappa and tonic.

Off to Burano and Torchello tomorrow with a report from Ilze.

Pete.