[azzarule]

Fintstone, I have noticed that there is definitely a difference in Venice depending on the time of year, if they have had rain, then the canals can be "polluted", and they can be flooding, if it is summer, the place stinks because it hasn't rained, so many people peeing in the shadows at night, and the rubbish around the streets!

So it is hard to find a happy medium, but even with all that I really love Venice, all those tiny little alleyways, the beautiful old buildings and churches. Didn't get any stomach bugs, but that is a problem through most of the warm areas around the Med, you don't drink the local water unless it is chlorinated and filtered. Never had a problem, that's why they all only drink bottled water over there, in summer everyone is carrying a bottle of water, even they don't drink the stuff coming out of the tap.

In Provence it wasn't a problem, their water, which mostly comes from aquifers, is beautiful.

I could do with losing 15 lbs!