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After being told that we definitely had rooms at the Airport Marriott, we got directed to baggage laim by two security guards at the airport and walked about 1.0 miles to Terminal B for the baggage. There were multiple flights being unloaded onto the same carousel with the result that the suitcases were all piling up and getting crushed as they tried to come off of the conveyor belt. Fortunately there was a young man there that helped us retrieve our cases. We then started off for the airport Marriott which we were told was in the B Terminal. The oly problem was that to get to it we had to go outside and walk in the street and then come back into the terminal go up one floor and then go into the marriott. As we got there we noticed that there were people lying in chairs and slumped against the walls of the hotel. When we got to the desk they told us we did not have reservations and that they were fully booked. It was now about 2 am. We asked to speak to the manager in charge as we argued our case with him, he told us
that the agent who talked to us had lied to us and that they did that all the time. He took pity on us and said he would put our luggage on a cart and call a taxi and take up to the downtown Marriott. Which he did. The cab driver managed to stuff all of our luggage into his sedan with only two repackings. We arrived at the downtown Marriott, a full service Marriott at about 3 am. We checked in and found that the had no bellhops on duty after midnight, no place to eat, and no minibars in the rooms. Dennis was starving so the desk clerk said he could order a pizza from a local restaurant and have it delivered. We dragged our luggage up to our room, called the pizza place and waited for the delivery. I have no idea what time it came because I think I had passed out by then. We fell gratefullly into our beds and into a sound sleep.
The next day, Friday, we arose to clear skies. We had a hearty breakfast and then I went out for a walk. I wanted to visit the Wannamaker
Building again. I remembered the beautiful stained glass skylight over the atrium. The Wannamker Building is now a Macy's. I went in and was disappointed to find that the beautiful stained glass skylight had been removed. The big pipe organ was still in place. However they were having a big sale on men and womens clothing so I went shopping and bought some nice things for Dennis and me. After a refreshing nap we went to The Capitol Grill for a delicious dinner. It was nice to be in a place where everything was as it should be and there were no unpleasant surprises. We slept well after our full meal
The next day on SAturday, we went to the airport with apprehension. We were so afraid that we would have a repeat of Thursday. But this time everything went smoothly. We took off on time and had an uneventful flight to Venice. Our driver Uri, had one of his colleagues meet us at baggage claim and helped us get all of our luggage out to a waiting van. They then drove us to the St. Basil's port where our ship was docked. We arrived about 10 am and had a two hour wait until we could board. But it was worth the wait. We soon saw Michael and John arrive at the terminal. We are all happy with our rooms. Our first night we ate at Hot Rocks which was delicious. We had a delightful evening out on the deck watching the sun set over Venice.
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