Italian Journey continues – Amazing Venice!
Sorry for the delay, but my website had a hiccup and had to call in my support team at GoDaddy. After a few emails it is back working! Photo’s to follow.
Today we have train tickets on the Frecciarossa fast train (3 hours – 15 minutes) to Venice. For novices, this is an adventure in itself. By this time, we seem to have accumulated auxilary bags, and other light bags seem to have gained weight, just like us!! We pack up and get a taxi to the train station.
Kari and Izzy quickly discover shopping under the train station and since we have a few minutes, they head downstairs as Ron and I “hold down the fort”. I am watching the departure board to see when train 9614 enters the station and we only have moments to claim our reserved seats and put our luggage in the over-head bins. (That’s why we left all but carry-on luggage at home.). Ever tried packing in a carry-on sized suitcase for three weeks!?
Arrival in Venice is kind of like stepping into a Disney movie. Canals are the highways and boats and gondolas are the vehicles. We only have a moment to enjoy the view before our next dilemma – how to we get the luggage and auxillaries over the very steep bridge to our hotel. Undaunted, Ron struggles up the first few steps (Ron: ‘her opinion!’), when out of nowhere he is “swooped upon” (Kari’s words) by a group of Croatian bikers, who offer to help. These muscular young men (Ron: ‘as if I am not – well, at least not young!’) present themselves as a blessing from God and take bags from all of us and deposit them on the other side. Before we can even get a picture, they are gone, up and over! We stand amazed! (Ron: ‘And I am relieved!’). Just one more short bridge to cross before our well-placed hotel, The Olympia. Again, we have to tag-team pieces across and this time Kari is left, literally holding the bags. Again, a Venetian angle arrives at her side and offers to help. Thank you Lord!
Note: If you come to Venice, plan ahead how you will get your luggage to your hotel, and how you will get to and from the airport, car park, or train station. Sometimes, we have stayed outside of Venice and taken a bus into town to view the city, allowing us to transport our luggage to the hotel via land taxi.
Izzy is our concierge for dinner this night and finds a sweet little trattoria whose specialty is “Spaghetti con Vongole” (Spaghetti with clams) and it is delicious! We also run into folks we met on the train at the same restaurant. What a small world! After dinner Ron, Izzy and Kari go for a stroll to explore Venice’s maze of streets. Izzy returns, proclaiming Venice as her ‘favorite’ city in Italy’, So heartwarming to see their love for Venice and each other.
