October 15

Venice, city of canals, bridges and culture ('kul-cha' as we Brits say). Lots of it, so much 'kul-cha' that perhaps Sean and I will absorb some through diffussion. Today was spent driving the 450km from Cinque Terre to Venice (Venezia). We had plans to visit Roma first and then come up through Italy heading North, and then across Austira back to Paris. Sean's friend Tiziana had other plans for this weekend. She was our rendevous in Roma. So we changed our plans and headed to Venezia first. The road up takes you through yet more tunnels and mountain passes. We stopped for diesel and some food, Lasagne, at a servizio, and then headed down into the flatlands of the Veneto region. The mileage we're getting out of the diesel is great!

We arrived at Piazza Roma. This square is the very Western tip of Venice. It is for the most part one huge garage, train station and coach depot. From here visitors to Venice make their way into the city either on foot or by boat. We chose to press onwards on foot with backpacks. This was the best choice. Venice, just like Paris, is a city made for walking. Sean tells me that there are two cardinal rules for Venice.
#1 - You will get lost.
#2 - Never cross a bridge unless you know what you are doing.
The former is easy to understand, this city is a labyrinth of alleys, bridges and canals. The latter rule is derived from the fact that there are only 3 bridges over the main canal, the Grand Canal, and that this canal snakes its way through the city dividing it in half.

The Grand Canal.

Our original plans were to stay at Hotel Paganelli which is on the main waterfront by Piazza S. Marco. Venice is packed for most of the year, the busy Summer season ends during Nov. Needless to say most of the hotels we tried or called were fully-booked. The nice gentleman at the Hotel Paganelli recommended the Hotel Trovatore which is just off of the main strip. They had an apartment for the first night, and tomorrow we'll stay in another room at the same hotel.

That evening we sat in the square and listened to the live music in Piazza S. Marco. It truely was an amazing evening. The air was still, it was warm and the sky was clear. You're sitting in the middle of Venice drinking a coffee. Life is good.

While eating dinner in an outside cafe, Matthew and I noted that although the French seem to dress rather well, especially when compared to Americans, the Italians seem to dress even better. They all look quite 'smart'.
Denise (the car) is doing well, and I highly recommend the diesel thing. The gas is cheaper and the efficiency is better. Granted you shave a little off the power, but cruising at 140km/hr is fine with me.
Last night was truely awesome. The live music included a string quartet playing in the piazza. The acoustics were great and it really gave a feeling of what the city was probably like a couple of centuries ago.

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