Italy as it Happened...Day 4

Italy as it Happened...Day 4

Saturday, April 13th

Today I was reminded of my days at sea, working on the ships. Kerry and I spent the entire day going to various islands surrounding the Venice area...there are dozens of them.

The public bus system is called the Vaporetto and when you purchase a 2, 3 or 5 day ticket, you get to hop on and off as many times as you wish. You can also purchase a point-to-point ticket, but that would be a waste of money for a couple of seasoned tourist like us.

The first Island we went to was called Murano, world renowned for Glass Blowing. As soon as we stepped off of the water bus, there were people all over us trying to lure us to their shops. The technique was basically this; "Come with me and watch our Master Glass Blower do his magic right before your eyes." Kerry and I followed, like bugs attracted to the light. Our preferred vendor would be the first one we saw, the one with the closest shop, the one who spoke perfect English.

Once on their property, there was no turning back, We were herded into a waiting area, a holding pen if you will. We were instructed to wait and we obeyed. There was a group ahead of us, and once they departed the show (glass blowing 101) we would be allowed to enter. It was all so organized.

Finally, almost 20 minutes later the doors swung open and we entered into the "Furnace" room. The slap of the heat smacked each and every one of us as we found a place to sit. Out came a jolly looking fellow, not what one expected as being a Master. With a glob of molten glass on the tip of his tube he placed it in the furnace while our guide talked about this or that. I wasn't paying attention to him; instead I was that bug, drawn to the light, the master, that baseball sized glob of glass.

Now, here is what amazed me, and everyone else watching. This dude took that piece of glass and with a little blow and rotating like crazy, in less than 60 seconds he was breaking off of the end of his tube the "Perfect" glass horse figurine. I guess he has done this a few times before.

As soon as the demo was done, the opposing door was opened, herding us into the gift shop, while others outside were waiting to take our place. Yes, it was all so organized.

We looked, with appreciation and respect at all of the items on display (free shipping to the USA was the tease). Sure, if one wanted to spend over a $500.00 or more for that one of a kind piece of glass art. Then a man approached us. Here came the hard sale I thought to myself. "May I show you something special?" he offered. Before I could say, "No thanks. Just looking," Kerry said, "Sure." With that we were escorted behind a drape and up some stairs to a room none of the others got to see. Here was where they kept the "GOOD" stuff. Sure I could see spending $3000 or more (with free shipping)...my eyes glazed over. This was the beautiful alluring light, and I was the bug. With respect, Kerry and I took a quick walk around before thanking our new friend...the exit was up ahead and we carefully made our escape. And when I say carefully, remember I was wearing my backpack and could have easily turned the wrong way..."You Break It, You Bought It," repeated over and over in the back of my head.

We spent another hour or so wondering around Murano before catching the water bus to another island called Barano, the worlds capital for Lace Weaving. On Barano all the buildings are painted different bright colors, giving the island the nick name, the Painted Island.This was pretty cool. We would find a spot in the shade and eat our pre-packed picnic (yes, fresh rolls, cheese, salami and tomato). Yumm...still my favorite sandwich, ever.

On the way back to Venice we stopped at a few other islands (Lido, etc) just to check them out. 

Back on the water bus with more Islands to see. Remember, with our Vaporetto pass, we could hop on and off as long as we wanted...We just had to make sure we didn't miss the last water bus, leaving us stranded on one of these Paradise Islands...

Once back at our B&B we finished off the food we had in the fridge for super (rolls, cheese, salami and tomato). This time we had the bottle of red wine to finish off as well.

Now, at some point the other two rooms became occupied as well. We were now sharing the kitchen and bathroom with an Asian family. After eating I decided I wanted to use the bathroom before heading out for the evening. They charge you 1.5 Euros to use the public toilets ($1.96 USD). Just before I walked out of our bedroom one of the girls from the other room walked into the bathroom and secured the door behind her. I could hear the shower starting...GREAT!

Seriously, that shower ran for over 45 minutes before she finally left. I quickly went into the bathroom before the rest of the family decided they wanted to shower as well. As I closed the bathroom door behind me, I was now standing in the middle of the filthiest bathroom I had ever seen. House Rule #3 clearly states; KEEP BATHROOM AND KITCHEN CLEAN. I guess she didn't see the sign. There was water everywhere...HELLO, ever hear of closing the shower door while running the shower? Her long black hair was on everything. Total chaos, everywhere.

As I left the bathroom behind me two thoughts passed through my mind. 1) Glad we are leaving in the morning. 2) Seeing that long black hair draped over everything, the owner, when he discovers this mess will know it wasn't me or Kerry (Kerry has red hair and I hardly have any).

Venice was becoming our new favorite place and yet it was only our first stop of many during this vacation. After packing up our bags, we headed out to St. Mark's square, for one last visit and one last "Worlds Best Gelato." And it was. This would be our third and final night in this amazing city and we look forward to whatever else Italy has to offer. If Venice is an example of what we can expect to find as we explore Tuscany, then Kerry and I are in for one "SPECIAL" couple of weeks.

Tomorrow we catch a noon train to Florence. Now, if we can only figure out how to take a boat to the train station. 

Good night Venice, sleep well...

Italy as it Happened...Day 3

Italy as it Happened...Day 3

Friday, April 12th

Have you ever heard of the term B & E? If not, allow me to explain. B & E is an acronym for Breaking and Entering. the police (and low-life street hoods) use this term a lot.

Our first morning in Venice; Kerry and I were up and showered and ready to go out and explore all that Venice had to offer. That was when I was forced to commit B & E. But I wasn't trying to break in anywhere. Instead I was trying to break out (Breaking and Exiting).

The previous night, when Kerry and I were ready for bed, I took one last walk around the apartment to insure all of the lights were off and all of the doors locked. There was only one door so that was an easy task. On the door there was a keyed lock and a bar-latch. The key part was out in the hall and the bar-latch was on the inside. The bar-latch was in the "open" position so I grabbed onto the handle and slid it to the left. "Click" It was secure and so were we.

After our breakfast in the morning we dressed up and headed towards the door. It was 9:30am and we had a 10:30 tour booked at St. Mark's Square. As I grabbed onto that slide-bar, to unlatch the door, it wouldn't budge. The little locking knob thing in the middle of the lock was jammed in tightly and no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't move. This was the only way in or out and being on the third floor, climbing out the window was not an option. Oh, and there was no phone anywhere to be found. We were stuck. What a way to spend our first day in Venice. Maybe those two nasty ladies behind us on our trans-Atlantic flight were sending us some bad mojo!

The yellow and black jackets you see Kerry and I wear when we travel are called the Bumble-Bee jackets. These work really well for standing out in large crowds as well as keeping us dry and warm. I had on my Bumble-Bee jacket with scarf and as I stood there looking at that stupid door, I was beginning to sweat. Were the walls actually closing in on me? For a brief moment they seemed to be doing just that. Off came the Bumble-Bee and the scarf. It was now time to tap into my engineering background and go directly into MacGyver mode. I searched every drawer and cupboard there. Not a tool anywhere. Then I found a cork screw and thought to myself, why not? On the door frame side of the latch, there was a piece that was securely attached with 4 flat head screws. If they were Philips head screws, we would have been screwed ourselves. As I tried to slowly turn the first screw, it wouldn't budge. I moved onto the next one. It moved, ever so slowly. The cork screw was bending. Would it last? "Probably not," I thought to myself. Finally, 10 minutes later that first screw was out and there were three more to go. I worked on each one, managing the screws (and cork screw) with the hands of a surgeon. Each move, each twist done with precision and care. Two screws out and the sweat was slowly dripping off of my nose. These screws must have been in there for decades.

Almost 40 minutes later, all four screws were out, the latch part attached to the door frame was attached no more. The door swung freely. The surgery was a success with only one fatality...the poor cork screw. It took one for the team.

I left the pieces on the table near the door and Kerry and I hurried out to catch our tour at the square (a 10 minute walk from our apartment). We got to see St. Mark's Basilica, the square, the Doge Palace and the attached prison. We also visited various churches and quaint neighborhoods. A stop for an espresso was the perfect way to keep our motors running (decaf for me and high octane for Kerry).

As our hunger for supper started to grow, we found a market and purchased a fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese, salami and rolls. That was the best tasting sandwich, ever! Kerry also found a great bottle of Pinot Gregio and some amazing pastries. The wine went well with the sandwich and the pastries would take care of our breakfast needs the next morning.

We found this little out-of-the way Gelato shop nears St. Mark's Square. The sign said, "Worlds Best Gelato." That was no exaggeration-we returned often. As the evening fell upon Venice and our dinner digesting in a wonderful way, we headed back to St. Mark's Square, just to sample the night life, Venetian style. Amazing!

I found it interesting that when we finally returned to our flat, those screws and latch piece were back on the door, the latch-bar itself returned to the far right (open) position, the same position it was in before I secured the door the night before. I never touched that latch again and nothing was ever said about our Great Escape. Interesting in deed!

Italy as it Happened...Day 2

Italy as it Happened...Day 2

Thursday, April 11th

As soon as we boarded our AirBus A330/300 and found our seats we settled in, for this would be our home for the next 9 hours or so. As we departed Atlanta we headed up the coast before going directly out over the North Atlantic. Everyone around us was buzzing with excitement. Everyone had a reason for being there, sharing this space with Kerry and me.

What could possibly happen that would be note worthy during a long trans-Atlantic flight? Turbulence, food poisoning, screaming babies; all of these are possibilities, but none are close to the situation Kerry and I found ourselves in (for the entire flight). Allow me to explain. We quickly reached cruising altitude, you know, when the seat belt sign goes off and you can start using approved electronic devices and recline your seat if that is your desire. Before I could do any of those things the lady sitting directly behind me leaned over, touching my arm, trying to get my attention. She got my attention.

"You do realize that if you recline your chair, you will land right between my bosom," she said, with what I thought to be a joking tone. I replied, "Then I guess we are going to get intimate!" With that said I started to recline. She immediately hit the back of my seat and with all she had she pushed my seat back into the upright position, with me in it. "What the...?"

Now, the lady sitting next to this aggressive person behind me was quiet and had little to say, that is until Kerry tried to recline her seat back. She too then started pushing on Kerry's seat, her attitude being fed by the lady sitting beside her. The space you have (limited as it is) is maximized when the person in front of you does not recline their chair and you recline yours. These two ladies wanted to maximize their space at any cost; our cost!

We sat there listening to these two "NUTS" complain about us and our seat position. It was getting to the point where I wanted to get up, open the emergency door and toss both of them out...bad thoughts! When the stewardess came along to serve the first meal, the two behind us started complaining. She smiled and listened to their story before coming up to Kerry and me and asking what was going on. We explained about the flight so far, from the time we reached cruising altitude until this very moment (90 minutes after take off) these two ladies were abusing us. As we were explaining our dilemma, one of the ladies actually reached her hand forward between our seats and grabbed onto Kerry's arm. I couldn't believe it, right there in front of stewardess...perfect timing. The Flight Attendant assured us that the space we had was ours, paid for in full, and no one on the plane had the right to demand we surrender a square inch. She called her supervisor and explained to her (in Dutch) what was going on. The supervisor said she would speak to the two ladies...I took my ear phones off; I wanted to hear this interaction.

Well, you would think that these two were the sweetest old ladies ever. They were polite and in the sweetest voice explained that they simply wanted us to keep our seat backs up during the meal service, so they would have room for their own meal trays. The supervisor came back and asked us if we would adjust our seats, just during the meal service and we said we would (my initial thought was to say, "Just put my wife and me up in business class and that would be the end of that.") But I knew that this was a full flight, every seat taken. The supervisor explained to these sweet Jekyll and Hyde fems that we would give them room to eat but after the meal, our chairs were there for us to recline or not; it was our choice, not theirs. They smiled and thanked her for her assistance and understanding. I ate my meal with on eye locked onto that emergency door...here come those bad thoughts again.

We enjoyed our meal (with our seat backs in the full upright position). As soon as we were done, and the trays were picked up, I heard the one directly behind be say to her new friend, "I bet you that man doesn't care and fully reclines again." That was the first thing she said that was truthful. As soon as the tray was gone Kerry and I hit that glorious button and quickly positioned our seat backs into the fully reclined position (looking at each other, we smiled). Now it was time to relax and enjoy a movie or three...and I did as Kerry slept. For the rest of the flight we could hear mumbling behind us...we did put our seat up each time a meal was served, but as soon as we were done...RECLINE, GLORIOUS RECLINE!

We finally arrived in Amsterdam and from there a quick exchange to a flight directly into Venice. We had no checked luggage, only a carry on for each of us...we travel light. Once in Venice (arriving at 4:30pm) we followed the directions to our B&B, directions that left me somewhat confused.

Because the streets in Old Venice are all canals, and addresses are hard to find we were instructed to take the water bus (Vaporetto) to a specific stop. From there we were to get out and call our host and he would come and meet us. My only concern for the entire Plan B vacation was this part...calling our host. We did not buy a European cell SIM card or cell phone. All we could do was by a local phone card for 5 Euros and find a pay phone and try to figure out how to dial all of the numbers we had to dial. Apparently if you are calling across the country or across the street, you have to dial every number (at least 10 of them not to mention the 800 number for the calling card).

The nearest pay phone did not accept these calling cards so we had to wonder a ways to find one that did. Finally, we found a phone booth in an old looking square. After two or three attempts Kerry figured out how to dial the number we had. She had Mr. Ixe on the line (yes, our host was Chinese and didn't speak much English - a few words if that). We tried to explain to him where we were and he said he would come and get us. We hung up and waited. After 15 minutes passed we called him back wondering where he was. All he could say was the name of the stop where we got off of the water bus, so we assumed he was there waiting for us. We told him 5 minutes and he seemed to understand.

As Kerry and I walked back to that stop, there he was waiting. He knew us from our online picture and after looking at us and then comparing us to the image on his smart phone, he approached, greeted us and asked us to follow him. We followed, wondering where on earth he was going. Up the set of stairs crossing the nearby canal we went and down the other side. He did take the bag from Kerry, but left me with mine. Then we turned right and then left, eventually coming to a small door, in a lane that dead ended on a small canal. This would be our home for the next 3 nights. Ironically, this apartment was only a few hundred yards from where we made our two phone calls.

He showed us around the flat and everything looked fine. We had a choice of three rooms, since no one else was staying there (yet). I selected the one nearest the bathroom (with 3 beds...1 queen and 2 twins). He gave us our keys and then he was gone. That would be the last we would see of him during our stay in Venice.

Splashing our face with water, Kerry and I were somewhat refreshed and determined to stay up until bed time in Venice. That is the best way to avoid jet lag issues; go to bed when the locals do. We went for an exploratory walk around the area, making sure to note the location of our apartment. We purchased a piece of bread and some Salami and made an easy dinner we could enjoy while walking about. By 8:30pm we were back in our room, 3 stories above the streets and canals of old Venice. 

Let the vacation begin. 

Italy as it Happened...Day 1

Italy as it Happened...Day 1

Wednesday, April 10th

We planned on taking a cruise around Europe and actually bought the tickets (cruise and air) months ago. Arrangements were also made for Kerry's sister to fly in and stay at our place, so she could take care of her mom during our much-needed vacation. We were going to sail out of Venice after spending a couple of days there. Then we would sail over to Croatia, two ports in Turkey, Athens, Crete, various stops in Italy and ending in Barcelona. We would be gone for 16 days.

Two weeks before our departure for Venice we get an e-mail from Carnival. Due to the various issues they experienced last year alone (engine room fires, dead ships at sea, etc.) they decided to cancel 12 upcoming cruises to audit the condition of various ships, making sure safely was not compromised. Our cruise was one of the cancelled sailings. Yes, us and 3000 other passengers would not be sailing on the maiden voyage of the Carnival Sunshine. At 3000 passengers per ship and 12 cruises being cancelled, that is a total of 36,000 not-so-happy customers, all of whom had their vacation plans squished; all of whom now share the same opinion of Carnival-THEY SUCK!

So, here Kerry and I are with air tickets into Venice on April 10th and out of Barcelona on April 26th. We also booked a series of site seeing tours in various locations. We scrambled and spent the next 2 weeks in "Plan B" mode. The greatest hurtle was changing our return flight from Spain to Rome (trying to avoid extra penalty fees) and to figure out where we would stay during our improvised Italian holiday. The airline (Delta KLM) was fantastic and as far as a place to stay goes, all I can say is thank God for "AirBnB" Google it.

This series of Blog postings is the story of our Plan B vacation - of how we turned Italian Lemons into Italian Lemonade. Our trip went sort of like this;

Early morning on April 10th, and the clock just hit 8:00am. Kerry decides to go to the gym with her sister Tina to take a Pilates class.

Hmmm - class ends at 9:30am and when you add the 10 minute drive home from the gym that puts Kerry home by 9:40am. Let's do the math. Our flight leaves at 12:45pm. We need to be at the airport by 10:45am (so says international flight protocol). Allowing for traffic, with all of the construction going on around Tucson, we need to be wheels rolling by 10:00am, at the latest. Kerry just walked in the door at 9:45am and she still has to clean up, change into her travel clothes and start the final goodbyes.

By my watch we were airport bound only 5 minutes behind schedule. When we got to the airport, we blew right through security. There were no lines anywhere. Now we are sitting at the gate, waiting, anticipating the adventure ahead.

For two hours we waited for the boarding call, and then we waited for our group number, and waited for the doors to close, and waited for the plane to taxi into position and announce the final "all clear" for takeoff. They all happened, eventually.

Here is what our next day (or two) looked like;
Phase 1...Flight at 12:45pm to Atlanta (3 1/2 hrs)
Phase 2...Flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam (8 1/2 hrs)
Phase 3...Flight from Amsterdam to Venice (1 3/4 hrs)
Phase 4...We have to figure out how to find our B&B in Old Venice.
We were on schedule and arrived in Venice at 4:45pm on Thursday April 11th.

I really don't like flying...