Sunday, May 18, 2014

Italy at 100 mph

160 kilometers per hour actually. (Remember when we were told we'd all have to learn the metric system because the US was finally going to join the rest of the world? Ha!)

We're on a train from Milan to Venice, having just flown from Kennedy last night. It was an uneventful flight and tolerable in coach only because we had the few inches of extra legroom that Delta's Economy Comfort provides. I looked longingly at Business Class, remembering fondly the days we used to travel that way. The plane was a 767 in the usual 2-3-2 seating configuration and we had seats on the right hand side near the door. It could have been much worse. I didn't sleep but I watched three movies and the food was actually ok.

Entry into Italy was totally easy, as was the train ride from the airport to the city center. Getting the Venice tickets, some food and a bathroom break were not as easy as one might wish. Note to self: be sure to arrive with at least a few Euro coins; the days of pay toilets have not yet ended in Europe.

Today we hope to check in to our hotel and do nothing more than eat dinner. We are meeting friends from the US in Venice, but will need a night to start recovering from jet lag before we do that.
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A few hours later: at the surprisingly nice and cold-as-we-Americans-like-it air-conditioned Best Western Hotel Bologna in Venice. A short nap, a quick middle-Eastern lunch, some computer work and we're soon off to Venice proper for dinner and a moonlight gondola ride: sure to be ridiculously expensive -- 100 Euros (about $137) for 40 minutes at night -- but a must-do as far as I'm concerned. Tomorrow, St. Mark's and the tourist trail.

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