Mc Grath,

I will be in Venice 2 days before you get there! We are finishing up a week in SLovenia and Croatia with 2 days inVenice before we return to the states on Oct 30. It will be my 3rd trip there in the last 4 years and I absolutely love Venice. WOuld love to bore you with info , and if you have the interest, PM me. I do not know of music there although I always go to a concert one evening, normally a Vivaldi one. There are several concerts every night in Venice. Always a delightful show.

Accomodations: Laconda Ovidis, on right side of Grand canal once passing the Railto Bridge coming from Train Station. You can take the ACTV (water Bus) to get there but you have to walk back down the canal , over the bridge and up to Laconda Ovidis as it is on the opposite side from water bus stop. Location is fantastic, but getting a little pricy for what you get. Still, if location is important, it is hard to beat the Railto area.

My favorite hotel is Hotel Laconda al Leon about 2 minutes walk from St Marks Square. A small hotel, with great breakfast, very kind owners, fabulous location, and I could hardly praise a place more highly for value to price. If you book there, tell them I sent you and you would like the corner room on first floor (second for us Americans) I could just sit for hours people watching out the window at he little campo there. PM me as I said if you want any more info I have a couple resturants that I would recommend as well as a tour guide there that I will use again this trip.   Wow I am excited just talking about Venice! thanks for the lift to an otherwise boring work day jimmyt