It's 7.30am and I've just returned from a quick, freezing jaunt around the almost deserted streets here in Venice - one of the joys of jetlag.
And if I've learned one thing it's that I need to read up more on my camera. I see the shot I want but am unable to make the thing comply.
Still, it was good to be out there first thing as the locals - mostly dark figures with their hands tucked into their pockets, their heads tucked into woolly hats and their shoulders hoicked up around their ears.
It was surprisingly dark at 6.30am, especially after Sydney, and I wandered around for half an hour or so before being driven back to our apartment in the northerly Cannaregio district by a combination of the cold, the camera and the fact that I had forgotten the map.
There were a couple of small brightly-lit shops - cafes mostly - through which you could see the owners getting ready for the day but mostly it was cold and empty.
It's starting to brighten up now - and at least it's not raining - and a fine mist has descended. Perfect conditions for grabbing some great snaps - if only I knew how to work the camera...
