Hi Everyone! Well, I must say that I really love Venice! We have so much fun wandering around and letting the city take us where it may. As Rick Steves puts it, this is an island, so you really can't get lost. We took a canal cruise yesterday and got to see the lagoon (huge!!) and the Adriatic Sea. It is a pretty tourquoise color (I'm wishing I had that box of Crayolas that my dad has mentioned, so I can give you a better description. Maybe you will be able to tell from the pictures.)
Eric is on a quest for the perfect Venetian money clip (his current clip is getting old.) I am personally so happy about this quest because it means that we get to go shopping! :-) The funniest part is that Eric has actually gone into far more stores than I would have, so I'm loving it! It's funny to see the exact same item at many different stores, all for many different prices. So we are having fun trying to bargain hunt.
Last night we wandered back to St. Mark's Square and danced in the moonlight. This is a very romantic city. I've always heard that Paris is the city of romance, and it is romantic, but I think Venice is far more romantic. I highly recommend this incredible place.
Today we ate breakfast with two guys also staying at our hotel, from Paris. It was fun to talk with them and share our experiences with them and hear about what it is like to live in the city. As I've said many times, meeting new people is the best part of traveling. (OK - 2nd best part.. Falling even more in love with your best friend is the best part!) :-)
After breakfast, we enjoyed our Secret Itineraries tour of Doges Palace. We learned so much, especially about Cassanova. Now we are curious to read his book, since we have some interesting background on him. The palace itself is gorgeous, and we got to see all of the secret prison areas and torture chambers, and behind the scenes parts that you don't get to see on the regular tour. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs and sighed. :-)
Now we are headed to the glass making island of Murano, and more adventures. Tonight is our last night in Venice. Tomorrow night, July 1, we board the night train to Paris. It is about a 12.5 hour ride. We will arrive at Paris at 8:35 a.m. and our flight home is at 12:30 p.m. So we will have a little less than 4 hours to navigate our way across the city and to the airport (I know - cutting it close a little bit, but it will be another memorable adventure!) Our hope is that the city trains are not on strike, which is always a possibility. But we have a backup plan involving a taxi and a bus, so we should be good. Otherwise you may be getting some extra posts from Paris! :-)
That's about it for now. I can't believe that our time in Europe is coming to an end. We've learned a lot of great lessons about travel, and will be better prepared next time, or at least can offer some great advice to anyone going on an extended trip. We've also learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I think our spirits have been refreshed and rejuvinated from the past two school years, and we are looking forward to returning to the challenges of the classroom (you may have to remind me that I said this!) Best of all, we've learned that the best part of traveling will be returning to the comforts of home. I am no longer going to write to Rick Steves looking for jobs. We are happy to enjoy travel as a special treat. And we are happy to live in a place with proper air conditioning, two ply toilet paper, and public toilets with actual seats! :-)
Note to Dad - We can't wait to see the book you are working on! Thank you so much for putting this together for us. I stopped writing in my journal back in the early days in Switzerland, so it will be nice to have all of our thoughts in one place. Now can you add our 2,800 pictures??? Just kidding! :-) xoxoxo to you and Mom!
Eric is on a quest for the perfect Venetian money clip (his current clip is getting old.) I am personally so happy about this quest because it means that we get to go shopping! :-) The funniest part is that Eric has actually gone into far more stores than I would have, so I'm loving it! It's funny to see the exact same item at many different stores, all for many different prices. So we are having fun trying to bargain hunt.
Last night we wandered back to St. Mark's Square and danced in the moonlight. This is a very romantic city. I've always heard that Paris is the city of romance, and it is romantic, but I think Venice is far more romantic. I highly recommend this incredible place.
Today we ate breakfast with two guys also staying at our hotel, from Paris. It was fun to talk with them and share our experiences with them and hear about what it is like to live in the city. As I've said many times, meeting new people is the best part of traveling. (OK - 2nd best part.. Falling even more in love with your best friend is the best part!) :-)
After breakfast, we enjoyed our Secret Itineraries tour of Doges Palace. We learned so much, especially about Cassanova. Now we are curious to read his book, since we have some interesting background on him. The palace itself is gorgeous, and we got to see all of the secret prison areas and torture chambers, and behind the scenes parts that you don't get to see on the regular tour. We crossed the Bridge of Sighs and sighed. :-)
Now we are headed to the glass making island of Murano, and more adventures. Tonight is our last night in Venice. Tomorrow night, July 1, we board the night train to Paris. It is about a 12.5 hour ride. We will arrive at Paris at 8:35 a.m. and our flight home is at 12:30 p.m. So we will have a little less than 4 hours to navigate our way across the city and to the airport (I know - cutting it close a little bit, but it will be another memorable adventure!) Our hope is that the city trains are not on strike, which is always a possibility. But we have a backup plan involving a taxi and a bus, so we should be good. Otherwise you may be getting some extra posts from Paris! :-)
That's about it for now. I can't believe that our time in Europe is coming to an end. We've learned a lot of great lessons about travel, and will be better prepared next time, or at least can offer some great advice to anyone going on an extended trip. We've also learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I think our spirits have been refreshed and rejuvinated from the past two school years, and we are looking forward to returning to the challenges of the classroom (you may have to remind me that I said this!) Best of all, we've learned that the best part of traveling will be returning to the comforts of home. I am no longer going to write to Rick Steves looking for jobs. We are happy to enjoy travel as a special treat. And we are happy to live in a place with proper air conditioning, two ply toilet paper, and public toilets with actual seats! :-)
Note to Dad - We can't wait to see the book you are working on! Thank you so much for putting this together for us. I stopped writing in my journal back in the early days in Switzerland, so it will be nice to have all of our thoughts in one place. Now can you add our 2,800 pictures??? Just kidding! :-) xoxoxo to you and Mom!
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