[Note: This post is for a past event.]
We took the wrong train yesterday afternoon; instead of jumping into
the high speed EuroStar train from Firenze to Venice (a 3 hours ride)
we rode a different train the opposite direction to Rome. My only excuse was
that we were in a hurry: the very short - couple of hours - Italian-style railroad
strike was over and we had to hurry to catch our train. We managed
to get to our hotel in Venice at about 1 am dead tired. We just
climbed into bed and was attacked by a couple of mosquitoes: I was
glad that I took the insect spray with me! One should remember this if
ever planning to travel to Venice.
Venice is as crowded as Rome. It is sad to see such a glorious city
almost abandoned and decayed. Only parts of Venice do now have
residents. We walked the back streets this morning and had a wonderful
brunch of Italian panini, coffee and fresh grapes. The table next to
us sat a couple from Australia and we had a good time chatting with
them.
The San Marco piazza had thousands of pigeons which are so used to
people that they climb on their heads and arms begging for foods. The
city is going through a major renovation so hopefully it will continue
to live on for another 500 years.
We are off to London tomorrow to return home so Ciao for now.
