Venice 21 to 24 Feb 2003
Seasoned world travelers that we are, we had a fine trip from Florence to Venice. First I misread the time and got us to the train station over an hour early. I raced Beth over to the station because I thought we were late, making her very unhappy. Then we got on the wrong train car. Had to fight through traffic to get our bags off that car, run to the other end of the train, hen get on the right car. Beth then got into a tiff with a guy over the placement of her purse. Then it took forever to find our hotel in Venice. We wandered around lost for about one hour.
The good news is, however, that we blundered into carnival. So we bought masks and joined the frivolity.
Lots of concerts, plays, etc. I was captured by some girls who I think performed an exorcism on me, although I was not sure. I had a Phantom mask on, so I guess I am a bad guy. They threw me on a mattress, muttered Italian over me, and made gestures as if to pull my heart out. They also searched my pockets for money. They did not find any, but I enjoyed it. My father advises that they learned this from their grandmothers, who apparently did the same thing in World War II.
Took several boat trips, including a gondola ride. We were too cheap the last time we were here, so this time we did it. Also went to another island to a glass factory, where we bought a small fortune in blown glass.
The canals and walkways in Venice are enchanting. Shops everywhere. Completely confused road network - they clearly needed a good city planner here in the early days. We really like Venice. It is beautiful, but expensive.
We were supposed to go on to Lake Como today for 4 days, then up to Stuttgart to get the car. Then back to Florence to get the rest of our luggage, and probably mail some home. However, the Italian railroad is on strike, so we are marooned in Venice for another day. Went back and forth on a boat to the rail terminal. Not too great a tragedy.Lago di Como (Lake Como) -- Wednesday 2/26
We ended up staying in Venice an extra night because there was a 12 hour rail strike and we could not get out until 11 p.m. It was a real hardship. Carnival was great.
We stayed at the Marcos Hotel in Como. We asked our driver to take us to a three star on the lake. It is perfect as it has accesss to the town and the lake. We overlook the lake from two windows, and the mountain with the funiculare (track railroad on the third). Only 2.5 flights of stairs to the room. We rode the funiculare to the top of a 1500 foot mountain, and hiked
around a little. We took a slow boat yesterday around the south part of the lake, and will take a fast one about half way down the lake today. It is truly stunning here. Italy has been one fesitval for the eyes.
Seasoned world travelers that we are, we had a fine trip from Florence to Venice. First I misread the time and got us to the train station over an hour early. I raced Beth over to the station because I thought we were late, making her very unhappy. Then we got on the wrong train car. Had to fight through traffic to get our bags off that car, run to the other end of the train, hen get on the right car. Beth then got into a tiff with a guy over the placement of her purse. Then it took forever to find our hotel in Venice. We wandered around lost for about one hour.
The good news is, however, that we blundered into carnival. So we bought masks and joined the frivolity.
Lots of concerts, plays, etc. I was captured by some girls who I think performed an exorcism on me, although I was not sure. I had a Phantom mask on, so I guess I am a bad guy. They threw me on a mattress, muttered Italian over me, and made gestures as if to pull my heart out. They also searched my pockets for money. They did not find any, but I enjoyed it. My father advises that they learned this from their grandmothers, who apparently did the same thing in World War II.
Took several boat trips, including a gondola ride. We were too cheap the last time we were here, so this time we did it. Also went to another island to a glass factory, where we bought a small fortune in blown glass.
The canals and walkways in Venice are enchanting. Shops everywhere. Completely confused road network - they clearly needed a good city planner here in the early days. We really like Venice. It is beautiful, but expensive.
We were supposed to go on to Lake Como today for 4 days, then up to Stuttgart to get the car. Then back to Florence to get the rest of our luggage, and probably mail some home. However, the Italian railroad is on strike, so we are marooned in Venice for another day. Went back and forth on a boat to the rail terminal. Not too great a tragedy.Lago di Como (Lake Como) -- Wednesday 2/26
We ended up staying in Venice an extra night because there was a 12 hour rail strike and we could not get out until 11 p.m. It was a real hardship. Carnival was great.
We stayed at the Marcos Hotel in Como. We asked our driver to take us to a three star on the lake. It is perfect as it has accesss to the town and the lake. We overlook the lake from two windows, and the mountain with the funiculare (track railroad on the third). Only 2.5 flights of stairs to the room. We rode the funiculare to the top of a 1500 foot mountain, and hiked
around a little. We took a slow boat yesterday around the south part of the lake, and will take a fast one about half way down the lake today. It is truly stunning here. Italy has been one fesitval for the eyes.