Hotel Garibaldi Padua

... control measure (hint: it’s not working!) If you even accidentally drive into the area, much less park there, they will photo your car and send you a hefty bill! Did we mention that drivers here seem to all have the same death wish?

Our first stop was the Bargello Museum, which is home to works by Donatello and Michelangelo, among others. Then off to the Galleria Academia .Yes, we went to an Accademia in Venice, too. It does get confusing! The ...

... of you who are not Reddingites, Calatrava designed the world famous Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA. Michele had read about the Venice bridge and found that it was just as plagued by delays and cost over-runs as the Redding project. Michele describes herself as the only resident of Redding who hates the bridge, more for its cost than its beauty.
You will see some pictures on the blog, but two ...

Blog Day 5 (Venice 2), Wednesday, December 9
We rose well-rested and after enjoying the hotel’s breakfast buffet, set off for St. Mark’s Square, where we spent most of our day. With the national holiday crowds dispersed, it finally paid off to be here in the off season! There were no lines for the Basillica or any of the “extra” (“for a small fee”) attractions on the square. It is no longer allowed to feed the pigeons, with the positive result ...

... find. Then it started raining, I mean it IS Venice, so what more could you expect? But it wasn’t bad, so (after I bought an umbrella) we kept walking.

The next day was spent the same way, though without Steve. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed tracking down gondolas. We found a great little place that sold yummy ham and cheese Paninis, and had a surprisingly wonderful few days. Next stop: Rome.

... we would have more problems finding our way back but it was actually fine. Venice was so busy with people - until we went into the back streets and than it was fine. We didn't really see anything you are supposed to see but we may not go back especially if the heat continues. Even Jen was too hot. We took picutes of Gondolas and things on the water. We stopped for a sandwich to go and wandered and than stopped for Gelato and than took the ...

Ahh! Now this is worthwhile. The absolute peace and relaxation you feel in venice is indescribable. Just the fact that it is a floating city is remarkable but what is even more astounding is just strolling around over bridges along side the rivers and channels. It is gorgeous. We walke around the ...

... down the grand canal to our stop, wandered through the tiny alley ways till we found our hotel checked in and headed to St Marks Square. At first the ride down the grand canal was very exiting - I never dreamed I would be floating down the grand canal in Venice. It was all a bit over whelming at first. But then the novelty wore off. The whole time we were there, there was a constant fog so heavy you couldn't see over the bay. We were only there ...

... About an hour before dinner there was thunder and lightning. Fortunately it stopped by the time I was ready to walk out to dinner. The sun came out and the skies cleared up quickly. It was still fairly cool (about 58 degrees) so I wore both my black sweater and light jacket. It was only an eight-minute walk to the restaurant. I made 7:30pm reservations and when I got there it was already 98% filled. This place ...

... along the way - both up & down - to see the falls. 52,000 gallons of water per second rushing down from the melting glacier. This is a definite must for anyone visiting this part of Switzerland and it certainly is worth the 10 Swiss Francs admission fee. After leaving the valley we headed for Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn. Since Zermatt is a car free city (just like Murren) we left the car at the parking lot at the Tasch train station and took the 12 minute train ride over to ...

... a disgruntled Irishman who proceeded to denigrate both his homeland, its drivers and his countrymen in general. We have never before met an unhappy Irishman - maybe he couldn't sing or tell jokes and had been ostracised. It was in Verona I started my obsession with the dogs of Europe, they are just so chocky and totally in love with their owners. From Verona we were heading to Bologna where we would pick up a third companion - the car was starting to look very small.