The rain arrived but didn't dampen our enjoyment of Venice. Today we enjoyed indoor adventures. Rather close to our "flat" was the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari - a church built by the Franciscan and dedicated in 1492! It is still a church but contains many of Venice's most famous works of art. Went early and almost had it to ourselves. Besides the paintings and sculptures there were some amazing carved pieces and even a 16th century clockworks. Couldn't leave Italy without having pizza - it was complemented with grilled sardines and onions soaked in olive oil and deep fried zucchini blossoms. Ben will appreciate someone else who has eaten in this restaurant. Did some exploring in the rain looking for bookstores and bakeries. Also did some house keeping and laundry as we prepare ... read more

Busy day in Venice - spent 6 hrs walking and 2 on a boat. Roaming through the endless maze of "streets" - some only 3 ft wide- has been delightful. It is easy to get lost, but the fun is in the search. Some highlights: The Rialto bridge is one of the 4 bridges over the Grand Canal and near it is the site of a Saturday morning fish market and the amount and variety was amazing. Everything fresh from the boats. Watched one fellow clean live eels! A Venetian tradition is an Italian version of tapas called cicchetti. Walk-up bars offer small, usually open-faced "sandwiches" with a wide range of toppings beginning late morning and each one is about 1euro. You can also get a very small glass of wine also for a euro - ... read more

Another beautiful day in the Netherlands. Left Haarlem this morning and took the bus back to Schiphol (the Amsterdam airport) since our flight to Venice tomorrow morning leaves pretty early. That allowed a chance to spend some time today in Amsterdam. Took the train from the airport to City Center and back. For the one bus and two train trips today we had to wait a total of 6 minutes and each departed right on time. With so many people concentrated in such a small country they need a very efficient public transport system and they have surely figured it out. The city center train station in Amsterdam is crazy hectic but once you walk for 5 minutes into the surrounding neighborhood it is quiet and enchanting. Found a great little fish wall-up for a very ... read more

KLM treated us very well. 10+ hour flight with good food, not much turbulence, lots of movies and an empty seat next to us. A two minute walk from customs to a bus that was waiting for us. A 20 min. bus ride on a road that only carries buses and has the intersection lights controlled so the bus doesn't stop. Dutch green pea soup for dinner on a chilly evening. Haarlem is like a mini Amsterdam. Neat, quaint but not crowded. Now to get some rest in our cute "little" hotel (a 3 room hotel) and explore a bit tomorrow.... read more