Quisisana Hotel Abano Terme

... The hostel I stayed at was a DUMP! It was really pretty terrible. But I slept well-enough and opted to avoid the 'shower' and wait for the cruise. Though I know that will be a cramped space, but at least it will (hopefully) be clean.

Arrivederci Italy! A presto.

Hopefully I'll find internet here and there while docked at various ports. But it may be a full week before you get any witty, intelligent, humorous updates from this particular traveler. ;)

Ciao!

... Well Tilly liked a nice bracelet with gold and blue Turquoise so I said to the man we only have a small amount of lira so what price could he do it for as we were trying to work if it was a good price or not and converting Lira to Euro and then to $ we were confused well we said that we will have a look around and may come back this is when the man starting shouting in Turkish you have just broken my business and kept screaming at us so we started to walk ...

We arrived in Venice sometime around 5pmon Saturday after flying in from Rome. The flight itself was uneventful though getting to our hostel was interesting because once we got off the bus at the beginning of Venice we had to navigate our way through the city's narrow streets and attempt to find out way. Venice is full of small streets that lack names and seem to go the most roundabout ways to get to places so we were pretty lost before we finally found our hostel after about an ...

... out of place but enjoyed the experience….another boat ride back up the Canal.. Not sure if we had a ticket… and then a different boat.. Again not sure about ticket to Murano Island where they make the Venetian glass…saw a demonstration on making glass figurines etc and of course visited the shop.. At this time the sun came out and it was time for the GONDOLA… another great experience with carlos the (never shut up - even ...

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

... the complicity of the reception staff, by organising a romantic tour to Venice. This wonderful and unique town is so near to Abano Terme. The reception staff has organised a car for me, a trip on a gondola and booked one of the best restaurant in Venice with a view on the Laguna. They arranged a bunch of flowers that I wanted to surprise my wife when we got back at the hotel. They also suggested a jeweller not far from the hotel. After lunch, with ...

... we'd just come from,) half a mile away. We grind our teeth and retrace our steps, for the third time. Goals 3 and 4 are so far not met. At this point we pass a book store, and Diana finds Rick's guides to Venice, and Florence and Tuscany. Alas, Italy 2007 seems to be sold out. Passing another bookstore we encounter the same issue. Diana formulates... Goal 5: to find Rick Steve's Italy 2007 guide. We stop off at a snack bar, and order two paninis and ...

... total and at each stop we were able to walk around. At the island of Murano, we had a tour of a famous glass factory that produces the popular "Murano Glass". They showed us how they make different glass figurines, jewellery,decorations, etc, etc, etc. and how they get to be different colors. The other two stops were more for shopping (and eating gelato!) So that was our exciting day on the island of Venice- next stop Milan! Ash and Kev

... waived off for being offsides, looked onsides to us and without a replay we'll never know and Buffon (Italy's goalkeeper) making a fantastic save late in the game saw the place get even more electric. The game was a little dull towards the beginning of overtime with both teams not wanting to lose, but Zidane's headbutt of an Italian got everyone riled back up. Mario, the waiter handed out confetti cans to shoot off on the chance Italy wins. So naturally i tried to figure ...

... far was going to the island of Murano, which some of you may know is known for its glass. Well we got a private tour of a glass blowing factory, where we were just feet away from the furnace! We met Mr Barbini, who is over 90 years old and has been a glass meistro since he was 18 (just 4 years after starting- he's that good!). Some of the kids also got to blow some glass. His stuff was cool but my folks already have some of the coolest pieces I've seen so I managed to save my money (yay ...