So...

 A few last thoughts on Venice, and then (promise) I'll move on.
Was it better or worse than six years ago, when it left me wondering whether I'd ever visit La Serenissima again? On the whole, I think, a good deal better, probably in large part because those gigantic floating hotels that pass themselves off as 'cruise ships' are no longer allowed to dock in the city to debouch their cargoes of tourists. The usual overpopular areas, particularly around San Marco and the Rialto, were crowded, of course, but less so than on my last visit, and the composition of the tourist throng was different: perhaps because we came this time in October rather than September, the majority of the tourists were Italian. This was gratifying – after all, it is part of their patrimony – as was the fact that in many parts of the city the Venetian residents seemed more in evidence than before. Perhaps this was the October effect again, but there was certainly ample proof that Venice is not a tourist theme park in which only tiny numbers of locals still live – and the presence of so many families with children surely shows some faith in a Venetian future.  
  As ever, much was 'in restauro' (including the Salute itself), but this is surely a sign of life and of care for the city's unique heritage, and the work is much needed. It will never be done, but a grand project to clean and restore every major painting in every church in Venice would be a wonderful thing, quite transforming the look of the painted city and bringing many great images back to life. But the work goes on, and in the half century or more in which I've been visiting Venice, great things have been done. 
  Something that has got noticeably worse is the graffiti, of which there is more than ever before, much of it ugly and intrusive. Ruskin would be appalled – but then that is true of so much about modern Venice, and indeed the modern world. Perhaps best to leave Ruskin out of it...
  One more positive thing: though it is always possible to spend a great deal of money in Venice, it no longer seems, for most purpose, that much more expensive than England. Perhaps it's just that we have caught up.