Venice

We hopped off the train in Venice, feeling quite pleased with ourselves for making it on our own without the safety of the group and the direction of our guide.  Venice was not at all what I expected.  I thought there were no cars in Venice.  And the directions to the hotel said to keep the canal on our right.  Hmmm.  We stopped in front of the African/Asian Restaurant to check the directions on Bill's phone since what I copied from the website didn't seem to be working.  No matter how many times we turned the data on and off, the GPS still said that our location was a 4 hour walk to the hotel.  God damned thing isn't working.

Oh.

We finally sorted out that we had gotten off at the wrong station.  So we tromped back through the streets with our luggage and waited in line for customer service.  I got to the counter after a 10 minute wait or so and the lady said that I needed a number.   Damn it.  So I walked the 10 feet back to the number machine, got my ticket and walked back to the counter, my number was up.  Way to stick to the rules grumpy Italian customer service rep.  Anyway she told us just to hop on the next train in platform one.  So we did and after a minute or two of uncertainty whether we were going in the right direction, we were relieved to see water all around us and the stunning domes in the skyline ahead of us.

We followed the walking directions from Bill's gps down winding narrow corridors with a slight pee smell in the air and did find our hotel quit quickly.  Our green and red and gold and pink room in all it's Venetian gaudy gorgeousness is perfect.

We tromped around for a bit and stopped to have an antipasto and apertivo to get our bearings straight.  I looked across the table to see Bill looking mesmerized with a tear in his eye, "Holy shit, does that ever look like my dad."  We watched this man wait with his adorable grandson for at least a half and hour while we ate bruschetta and olives and felt like we had just now landed in Italy.  We watched locals walk home with their dogs and have seen more Italians here than any of the other regions we have visited so far.

More wandering over little bridges down tiny streets, peeking in shop windows with Murano glass, carnival masks, patisseries, and other delights.  I was getting hot and sticky and a bit fussy, ready for dinner.  We settled on a little outdoor bar with wine barrels for tables and a perfect waiter that told us exactly what to order.  I looked to my right and saw the nearly full yellow moon perfectly placed in the centre of stunning architecture, over a bridge in the warm night sky.  An exquisite evening.

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This morning as Bill was getting dressed he pulled out his plaid short sleeved shirt.  Exactly the shirt that the man with the boy was wearing yesterday.  A sign?  Who knows, but we took a picture to show the resemblence.  It is so clear in the features of the locals that Bill's roots are here.  That man with his grandson has made the trip that much more special.

We headed out for our day of more wandering through more little alleyways and bridges to St. Mark's Square, which is jaw dropping.  The wind and clouds of the quickly approaching storm added to the drama of it all and also helped to clear some of the crowds as they fled for cover.  We walked slowly back home in the rain to our hotel where we are relaxing until our "Secret Nights of Venice and gondola ride" Tour tonight.  Not sure that it will go because of the storm, but fingers crossed.