On our way to Venice

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We were up and out the door just about 8:00 a.m. on this warm Sunday morning. The streets were very quiet and we packed our bags and made our way to the subway and to the Termini, the main train station. We were booked onto a train heading to Venice. I was very excited to get to see some of the Italian countryside. One of the down sides to this place is the upspeakable amounts of grafitti. Aside from the speciall areas of the city the majority of buildings are COVERED in grafitti. It is really disgusting and you have to force yourself to ignore it because it is truly a blight. There is nothing artisitic our beautiful about it in my opinion. In fact it distracts from the environment totally. That said, once out of the city limits we were afforded gorgeus views of the vineyards south of Florence, Olive groves and rolling hills. The train reached speeds of over 250 kms/per hour and for some strange reason it has this rocking effect that no matter how energetic you feel you can't help but fall asleep. Both John and I experienced this. I fell asleep outright on the leg from Florence to Venice and noticed that most others on the train did too. Interesting. We switched trains in Florence and ended up in Venice by about 1:30 p.m. Our hotel, The Hotel Belle Epoch is old school Venice. The walls are covered with silk and the headboard is very ornate. There is a chandelier above our bed. The hotel is literally 5 minutes from the train station in the heart of Venice. We checked in and headed right out for a walk.

Venice...how have I not met you before? I cannot believe how much I love Venice. It is so beautiful, so interesting so romantic. While I could not see myself living here I can see myself returning time and again. We walked to a canal side restaurant, ordered some seafood and wine and mapped out the afternoon. About an hour later we started walking...the best thing to do in Venice is drop the map and wander, down back alleys, along canals and no matter what you will end up where you wanted to be even if you didn't know it. We decided that for the next two days we would not plan, just stroll and see. The ONLY thing I really want to do is go to Murano and Burano two islands off of the coast. One is known for glass the other for lace...we can taxi there by water for a few euros.

As we wandered along we found ourselves beside one of the many gondoliers. This boat was very beautiful, some are kind of dirty and not well maintained this one was gleaming and the gondolier was not pushy--though most are not. He spoke English and took us on a lovely ride throught the streets of Venice. He sang and it was terribly romantic and very beautiful. When we got out of the boat we agreed..BUCKET LIST: CHECK! I think that ride will be a highlight for me, it was dusky and the light was perfect the air was warm and it was all one would imagine. John didn't even complain about the price! ha.

Today July 23rd we are sitting in our hotel restaurant enjoying a cappucino before heading out for the day. I will post a bunch of pictures in the next blog...CIAO! nan

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Comments

[Dad]

Nice Boat Ride
Sounds great Nancy, wish we were there

[Elfrieda Kroeker]

Venice
I understand totally. Isn't Venice enjoyable! I loved the walking and discovering quaint little shops or getting advice from an old Italian man about where to go and see something. We discovered an art shop, where everything from men's ties, jackets, women's underwear, etc., was carved out of wood. It was really neat. Have fun. We have the same 30 plus temp. here but are not wandering among concrete all day long.

[Alison]

Sounds Amazing !!
Wish I were there - I 've been to Venice years ago- a most romantic place and a chandelier over the bed. Well .... so do get out of the room to tour a little!!

[Nadine Kampen]

Venice
Love your descriptions.