Day 20 and 21, Venice

Yesterday was such a full day that I didn't even take the time to post to this blog-- so this is kind of a catch-up post, with the wrap-up from yesterday and today. In fact, most of yesterday was spent in transit. First, four hours on the bus from Milan to Venice, and then we took a water taxi directly to the door of our hotel in Venice. What a wacky place with canals instead of roads! It's not really rockin' the handicapped accessibility, though, so Gramma's taking it easy and keeping the sightseeing to a minimum. She says she's seen it all before anyway. Our hotel is right near St. Mark's square, so we have 1.3 million pigeons as neighbors here.
Last night we went to La Fenice-- by far the most beautiful opera house we've been in yet-- and saw Massenet's "Thais". I wasn't all that gripped by the opera, and neither was Gramma. We were stunned by all the nudity (lots of naked dancing girls in this opera-- I guess that's what they like in France). The music was nice, but no truly amazing or memorable moments. I suppose there's not much else to say about it... (I suppose I don't have much of a future as an opera critic.)

This morning I joined the walking tour of St. Mark's square and the Doge's palace. We walked through the Bridge of Sighs. Sighed, of course, and even gasped a little when I looked out the window and saw how many people were on the next bridge down taking pictures of the bridge I was walking through. Venice is beautiful, and a place that really keeps you on your toes with all the bridges and canals. It's wild to think that all the shop owners and museum keepers have to think amphibiously. The combination of a high tide, a full moon, and some strong winds can turn a gift shop into a kiddie pool. And this is just the way of life here! And when St. Mark's square isn't flooded with water, it's a sea of pigeons. Great fun for the kids, but I'll be alright if my vacation doesn't include smothering my body in pigeon poo... You see these folks out there with pigeons on every limb, and even pigeons standing on their heads (standing on the person's head, not the pigeons standing on its own head). I made sure to walk through without a single crumb in my pocket!

Pretty soon we'll head out for our "farewell dinner" with the opera tour group. We've seen and heard a lot together! These are all such wonderful folks, and it'll be fun to see if we ever run into them again.