The 48 Hour Day

---

June 5th, 6th, and a little bit of 7th, 2005
I had a 48 hour day today, it was nuts! Left Regina at 2:30, arrived in Calgary by 3:40, W-A-I-T-E-D … Then Anne came at 6:40 and we hopped on the plane and took off at around 7:40. We got to London early by about 45 minutes, so the flight took a little over 6 and a half hours. There was very little “night,” as we chased the sun right across the earth, but it was really neat seeing Ireland and England from the sky! We then took a bus from London Heathrow to London Gatwick and w-a-i-t-ed (the flight was one and a half hours late!) … We then flew into Venice and landed at 10:22 pm. When we walked out of the airport, it was a beautiful 22 degrees Celsius! Goodnight from Mestre, Italy!

June 7th, 2005
It was Market Day today in Marghera, a small town by Mestre, only 8 minutes away by car, but the two towns share the railway station as a common border. We had to go get permission to do the kids programs in the park. We went to a fruit stand and the lady running it loved our attempts at Italian, so she gave us “free samples” of fruit, fresh cherries, an apricot and a juicy section of cantaloupe melon. So tasty! We ended up buying a bunch of fruit and veggies.
We drove around Mestre and visited and met various people who we would be working with for the Ghioci Estivi (pronounced jokey stevey, literal translation is “Summer Games,” what is actually is, is a kids program in the park that includes puppet shows, games, songs, crafts and short skits.).
No one has screens on their windows here, just open shutters or a solid but lacy type of fabric to keep out the sun but let in the breeze. It was a gorgeous day and the Honeysuckle growing along the fences filled each apartment with a sweet smell. A lot of the architecture in Mestre is pre-elevator, so visiting an apartment on the 6th floor meant stairs all the way!
The streets are narrow here and it would be easy to get lost. The roads curve often, sometimes splitting and going in two completely new and different directions! The cars here are small and are brands I don’t recognize like Opal, and Renault.

The Venezuelan connection for our team has arrived, so I am currently trying to learn Italian, and Spanish ( our team is Multi-cultural, we have 4 Venezuelans, 2 Canadians, 1 American, and 3 Italians). Ciao Bella!

---

Photos

Which Way From Here?
A road sign on the highway between Mestre, Marghera and Venice

Market Day
Market day in Mestre and in Marghera were my faveorite times to venture out and be submerged in Italian cultre... It was like learning for myself what it means to be Italian.

Cherries at the Market
The fruit market with Free samples!

Cheese on Wheels
If I ever marry rich... I want to get a cheese shop on wheels... until them I'm satisfied with my Kraft Singles.

Fruit Market
By far my most faveorite part of the market...

Italian Beaurocracy
Attempting to get bus passes...It was almost as hard as getting permission to be in the country... only two less pictures and one less document...

Riding the Bus
Italian busses are way different then Canadian busses... there are a few seats on the outside edges of the bus but big open areas with hand rails for lots of standing passengers

Fences with Honeysuckle
The most amazing smell on a crisp morning or a humid summer afternoon