La Tempesta

Today, after some much needed sleep, we wandered around the Dorsoduro area of Venice which is near our hotel. On our way we stopped at a local pizza shop and grabbed a couple of slices. Our next stop was the Gallerie dell' Accedemia which houses a very famous painting, La Tempesta by Giorgione. This is the painting that Leslie was anxious to see, so it was pretty funny when she walked right past it.



The rest of the works were interesting, but all rather dark and gloomy. After zipping through the rest of the tour, we stopped off at a Gelateria for a delicious cappuccino and amazing gelato. I had one scoop of lemon and one scoop of chocolate, which was an outstanding combination.

 

From there we wandered north, slowly winding our way toward the train station to book our tickets to Florence for tomorrow. That process was surprisingly easy and we had no trouble with the automatic ticket machines.

It's neat to just walk around the city and see all the people. Venice is mostly a tourist trap, but it's still a beautiful place and unique from any other city in the world. There really are no cars here and everyone gets around on boats using the canals. They literally step out of their front door and hop into boats. Where else can you find that?

Tonight we're going to have a nice dinner with some good wine and then top it off with a few Belinis at Harry's Bar per Roland's suggestion. Tomorrow we are off to Florence!

Venice!

Today I awoke bright and early at 4:30am UK time to fly to Venice. Fortunately, this trip was much smoother and I arrived in Venice on time at 10am. Leslie also had a nice flight from Philadelphia and met me at the airport. We then proceeded to catch the shuttle bus down to the dock where we took a water bus over to Piazza San Marco. From there we caught another water bus across the canal to the Salute stop. After walking around lost for a bit, we managed to find the Hotel Messner where we are staying. It took us 3 hours to get from the airport to the hotel. Pretty sad.



Once we got checked in and freshened up, we set out to see the sights of Venice. We're here for two days, so today we just wandered around the city, ate some pizza and pasta, and took a very pleasant gondole ride through the canals. I guess that's what everyone does when they come here, so we felt like we should partake as well. The gondole ride was 80 euros and lasted about 40 minutes. Not cheap, but you have to do it. I must say, it was pretty cool.

Tomorrow we will see the Basilica and all of the major tourist sites before leaving for Florence on Wednesday.

What am I doing in Philadelphia?!?!

Well, my trip is off to an auspicious start. I had a quick and uneventful flight to Charlotte, but once there I was told that something was wrong with the plane we were supposed to take to London.

USAirways: "We can't fly it all the way to London, but we're going to take you to Philadelphia instead."
Calvin: "Huh?"
USAirways: "Don't worry, the plane will be fine just going to Philadelphia. We'll fly you there and you can change planes and then go on to London."
Calvin: "Are you sure this is safe? When will I get to London?"
USAirways: "Oh yes, no worries. You will arrive in London around 1pm."

There's a bit more to it than that, but you get the idea. Long story short, I arrived safely at London Gatwick around 1pm. Jacque met me at the airport and we called the hotel and had them pick us up. I checked in, and then had a nice lunch and a few pints at the local pub. She couldn't stay long, but it was nice to see her and catch up.

I topped up my UK phone, so you should be able to call or send text messages to 01144 781 5966480.

Tommorrow I am off to Venice, Italy bright and early. My flight leaves at 06:55am and I should arrive there around 9am.

Off to Europe!

Tomorrow I leave to spend 40 days trekking through Europe before returning to the "real world." I will post all of the highlights and the stories of my adventures here. I can either be reached here or via email.

My first stop is in London where I will spend one day and night before leaving for Venice bright and early Monday morning. I fly from Raleigh-Durham to Charlotte and then on to London Gatwick. I'll be staying at a pleasant looking inexpensive hotel near the airport that will hopefully be quiet enough to allow me a good night's sleep. I haven't yet decided what to do on Sunday, but I will either hang out in Horley or go into the City for a pint or two or three...



Stay tuned!