A Happy, Drizzly Day in Venice (title by Kamie)

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Geo: 45.4958, 12.2441

Not being able to sleep last night bit me in the arss at 4 am this morning ~ we were up and on our way to the airport at 5am. We got to the airport and the Aer Lingus area was packed with people! We couldn't believe it - it was the busiest airport area I've ever seen and I've been through LAX a dozen times. Our flight attendants in their green suits escorted us on our green plane and we sat in our green seats. The flight from Dublin to Venice was 2 hours 40 minutes and I slept 2 hours and 30 minutes. Kamie said that at one point, I was snoring. Gawd Kamie - tell me next time!! By the way, we think Aer Lingus is an interesting airline - no first class seating, you get to pick your seats the day you pay for your flights & you board by row number - and the best thing - more leg room (by far) than Delta and the already comfy seats all had built-in head rests. I'm liking the Irish more every day.

Which reminds me... two things I forgot to mention yesterday...the kids all wear uniforms to school (or so it seems)... one group of kids were all wearing dark blue sweats, another group royal blue sweats. A young group of girls (10-ish?) were all wearing knee-high socks and skirts - navy. The high school girls were wearing green knee-high socks and skirts. All of them were interesting - and friendly kids. Which reminds me... the local kids (even the little girls) use the public bus system to get home after school. Interesting, huh?? We thought so. The buses are clearly safe and a very friendly environment.

So, we left Ireland and woke-up in Venice. We got bus tickets and made our way to Mestre (pronounced May-Stray) which is where our hotel is for the next 2 nights - in Venice but not Venice proper. We started to check-in and the attendant immediately commented on my nails. Kamie started laughing. I've had my nails done like this on every trip I've taken since I was 18 - but I used to do red or pink - I've still only done a French manicure for at least 10 or 15 years. Odd but flattering.

So...we locked-up our items in the hotel safe and went walking around Mestre. We found a local grocery store that cheaply sells all sorts of yummy-looking breads, cheeses, wines, etc. We found a gelateria and we split a half pistachio/half caffee (coffee) cup of this wonderful ice-cream-like dessert. We loved the pistachio. I had read about a local sandwich shop that was only open a few hours a day and a man and his sons cater to the locals with freshly made items - whatever they have that day is what they sell and when it is gone, it is gone. It was a tiny, standing-room only sandwich shop that was wonderful. I ordered a glass of Prosecco and a sandwich - and stood and watched him cut the turkey and the ciabatta bread in front of me. Kamie had a prosciutto and mushroom sandwich. Total for 2 people to eat lunch at a "standing counter" and enjoy it immensely ~ less than 10 Euros! Wonderful and worth the walk!

After lunch and shopping in Mestre, I was exhausted and begged Kamie for a nap so we took a < 2 hour nap today and it was tough to wake-up but we did... and then we ran to meet the next train to Venice. Again, public transportation is easy and cheap and we are fairly good at getting around, figuring out the schedules & validating our tickets. It's a good thing because the Italians, at times, are not nearly as helpful as the Irish, to put it nicely. ;~)

We arrived in Venice, stepped off the train, out the front walkway and... WOW!! Venice is unique and mesmerizing. It was also raining - a lot. Kamie's title is a little bit of a fib because it rained pretty much the entire time we were in Venice today. We had not decided on a mode of transport yet so we just walked today. We walked and oddly, shopped. I purchased 2 aprons (for half the price he originally wanted). They aren't cotton and nice but I'll use them. I should show better judgment when buying as I know I only like the cotton aprons and yet, I let this guy talk me into buying the non-cotton ones. :-( Anyway, this trip I will get aprons... Kamie will get hats. It's our thing. That's what we always buy. I wear my apron from Italy several times a week now so I get good use from my "souvenirs" and he wears his various hats to work so he can share his travel stories with the kids. We also always buy a Christmas ornament. We found Santa being a gondolier ~ who knew Rudolph was obsolete in Venice?! I had another gelato - Melago flavor - a rum-soaked raisin with caramel - my favorite from our last Italian vacation. It was strong today - like a shot of rum poured over ice cream. I liked it! I decided on our mode of transport for tomorrow, we slowly meandered our way to find an outdoor cafe with no service charge (many places here charge a fee to sit down and a cover charge to even eat outdoors in Venice). We shared a mushroom & prosciutto pizza, Prosecco for me, and Chianti for Kamie. We got one last gelato - a tiny cup of tiramisu flavor. It was good but not my favorite. I'll try mint and pistachio again tomorrow- but Kamie will have to get his own pistachio because he nearly ate all of mine today - he loved it too! Anyway, this evening we caught a train coming back to Mestre and now we are about to get a full 6 to 8 hours of sleep...at least we hope so!

Tomorrow, a full day in Venice... and more gelato!!

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