Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Arrival in Venice

Tuesday, 06 Dec 2011 – After actually leaving home late on 02 Dec. & spending a few days in Battle Creek, MI, we have arrived in Venice, Italy!

             The first leg of our trip from Detroit to Toronto was delayed more than 2.5 hours, mostly the result of a cargo door problem.  Also, the temp had dropped while our plane was loading, which then meant standing in line with other planes to be de-iced.  Even though we were impatient to get going, watching the de-icing was interesting.  Although we had to go through customs in Toronto, collect our bags, and then recheck them, miraculously both we and our luggage made it to Venice on schedule!

            At the Venice airport we collected our bags and soon boarded a public bus to the Piazzale Roma.  Here the sun was shining brightly, after seeing rain & small hail at the other airports.  At midday it was 47 degrees here, though it might have dropped almost 10 degrees by this evening.  It is not much more than a block in distance from the bus stop to Hotel Olimpia, where we’re staying.  However, we were operating on no sleep.  Therefore, Sally used the last ounce of her strength to pull her heavy suitcase & attached smaller bag up the steps of a canal bridge.

             Luckily our room at Hotel Olimpia was ready for us, even though it was only 12:30 PM.  We are on the fifth (top) floor, with sloping wood ceiling, like an attic.  It’s a tiny room with attached tiny bathroom (with shower & bidet).  Our window gives a view of rooftops; in the far distance we can see the harbor and a docked cruise ship.  Our cruise ship will be docked at the same location in a day or two.  Within 15 minutes after reaching our room, Sally was in bed, asleep, and Jesse was not far behind.  At 4:30 PM we woke up, and soon went walking in the neighborhood.  We found a small pizza shop nearby and bought two large slices of pepperoni pizza.  Although we had planned to purchase Gelato for dessert, due to the coolness of the weather we decided to postpone that pleasure until tomorrow!

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