Venice, this is pretty interesting territory

We have just linked up with friends John and Sue from Auckland for a four week holiday in Italy and France (three weeks in Venice/Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast followed  by a week swanning down the Midi-Canal in the Carcassonne area of Provence)
We are just reaching our third evening of this four night stay in Venice. For Julia and yours truly this is our first trip into "Watery Paradise Territory" . Sue was last here 31 years back and John last visited at least 40 years ago.
What's this city like. Well it's basically everything it's cracked up to be.
You have no doubt been here yourself or have had your ear bashed by friends who wanted to share their personal experience with you so I won't bore you with all the normal good stuff.
However there's a few things that I find really interesting.
For starters , you never see any Real Estate signs ANYWHERE. Isn't that weird? You are left wondering what the housing market situation is like here. Maybe it's a big non event. Who knows?
The flamboyance of the locals. Endless numbers of friends have told us to anticipate that when dealing with locals you will find them a bit crotchety. We have found the exact opposite. In our books the Venetians are winners and perfect hosts .
Getting around. Again, friends told us that it is very easy to get lost. Before arriving here I paid little attention to their comments and just thought that when push came to shove, our internal GPS systems would kick in.WRONG.! TOTALLY WRONG!. You only have to blink and you find yourself lost. Last night we went out at five for a few pre dinner drinks and forgot our map. The plan was for a ten minute walk to a bar we had ear marked as a suitable location. One hour and fifty minutes later and we had finally arrived at our destination. We have now learned our lesson on that little number.
Tourist numbers. We were consistently advised it was going to be a living nightmare and we would be battling for our share of the oxygen supply. Not true. Mid September is a great time to wander around this city. Temperatures are perfect and tourist numbers are just right.
And finally, whats the deal with these Gondoliers singing Tom Jones greats like "the greena greena grassa ofa a homea" . Are they getting bored with Italian numbers.
We are now thinking that this city should be allocated "Return Visit" status.
It's a winner, simple as that

Cheers