Hotel Carlton Capri Malcesine

I'm just packing everything up for my cruise. Eeeee! I am so excited. And I've actually planned ahead and have four nights post-cruise booked. Look at me being on top of stuff. However, it's another budget airline situation to get me to Sicily, but at least this time I am prepared. Which I think is half the battle? At least I thought that's what GI Joe always said.

It is FREEZING in Venice. Granted, I probably don't have the right attire, but still it is cold, cold, cold ...

... Octopus salad so we shared one of those too and the little lady treated us like one of the family and waved us goodbye . After a great day we boarded the ship for our last night at sea and the next day we would be back in Venice again to end the cruise I can say that this has been great fun and we will do it again .

Arriving in Venice we had a nice breakfast and then left the ship for the shuttle bus into the city centre and then another bus to the ...

... to head to the airport early to get some studying in before our plane took off. Chris,Katherine, Lorin and Jess decided to stay back at the hostel and study there and planned to meet Eric and I at the airport in a few hours. Eric and I arrived at the airport about 5pm and had 4 and 1/2 hours to kill before our plane took off. After studying for a long time, it finally became 9pm and Katherine, Chris, Lorin and Jess were no where in site. Luckily our plane was delayed 20 minutes ...

Venice
Raining and pouring for the morning in Venice..but we braved the elements and the buses and the Italians and other tourists to head from the motel (on the mainland) into the city of Venice. We were soaked by the time we got off the bus but the “Australian Drowned Rats” (ADRs) carried on.. We somehow bought tickets for a boat trip.. And then took the wrong boat but ended up on a great trip down the Grand Canal…even in the ...

After the wedding we spent a few days in Venice before flying home. This is one of the cities I wish I could walk around without anyone else there. I am sure it is much more beautiful without the hundreds of people on every little bridge. It was a lot of fun wandering around, getting lost and then finding a place to enjoy a glass of wine.

cheers

... sure at every moment I was comfortable. First on my agenda was to shower and shave, then we headed out for some authentic Italian pizza at a restaurant nearby. The pizza was awesome, we both had beers with our pizza and followed with a coffee for dessert. Italian coffee's are little espresso shots that you load sugar in, that's it, if you order a tall coffee, the get a very confused look, it is hard enough finding it in stores here! Also for desert Giorgio ordered a ...

... showering up, we headed to a watch a performance of Vivaldi's 4 Seasons. This was an excellent experience, the likes of which Chris had never seen before. He's eager for the next. We foraged on, stopping for a very nice Italian meal and bottle of wine. It had been an exquisite day. We finished our ramblings about, and headed back to get some sleep. It was so hot, we slept with the windows open. No screens...

... about 10:30 p.m. which I didn't attend. On Jan. 1, New Years Day, I attended a performance of " I Musica", similar to the one in Rome, where the musicians were dressed in period dress and played violin, (about 4), 2 clarinets, a flute, cello and piano plus a soprano and baritone for certain songs, all classics by Beethovan and Strauss for example. This afternoon I leave for Ljubljana, Slovenia, a 4 hour direct train trip from here. I booked a hostel on ...

... been okay, though, except every single part we were walking through had more than a faint resemblance to a slum, probably due to the moisture rotting the buildings. I'm disoriented and cranky, but still barely alert enough to navigate us through the mess to San Polo square, the most disappointing square I have ever seen in my life. It was mostly empty, with a bit of garbage. We find our "hotel," to be greeted by someone we would ...

... Corinth Canal. Athens was a wonderful adventure, enjoyed by all. Today we disembarked mid-morning, walked to the vaporetto (water bus) stand, cruised the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco, and found our hotel in a deluge of rain. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in a local cafe, and found this internet cafe while wandering the narrow streets and piazzas of the town. We look forward to a leisurely three days here in Venice before our return to the States.