Goodbye Venice, Hello Vienna

Margaret comes to meet us in Venice with her daughter's new puppy. Her daughter has a new job so Margaret is puppy sitting and trying to get her daughter to pick up the puppy whose name is Le Meu...

 Mrs. Phred and Margaret in Venice..

 More reflections...

 Appetizers at Gam-Gam's

 Mrs. Phred's pictures from January 2008 at carnival in Venice...

The Case of the Elusive Green Umbrella

Venice, Italy

We agree to meet Margaret near the Rialto Bridge at 5 PM.

We don't know what she looks like so we e-mail that I will be holding a green umbrella.
Just to be sure we use standard recognition signs and countersigns:
Margaret: The wingless dove protects its nest.
Phred: The toothless tiger rules the restless jungle.

 Margaret is a Canadian who has lived in Venice for 25 years.

 She's a lot of fun and leads us to four restaurants and bars where she is known as a regular.

As we wind down the evening and approach our hotel about midnight, I suddenly realize that I've left my green umbrella at one of the places that we ate and drank.

 It's a very fine green umbrella so the next day Mrs. Phred and I decide to track down all four businesses and see if they found my umbrella...

I make up a sign that says "ho perso il mio ombrello verde".

At the third place after two hours of searching we find the umbrella.

We walk a few steps to an open air place in a piazza and order some water and wine.

A mile later, as we are approaching our hotel, I realize that I left the umbrella again so we retrace our steps once more.

Later that afternoon I use a public restroom and place the umbrella on a sink.

Two hours later it is beginning to sprinkle and I think about the green umbrella again and go back and retrieve it for the third time today.

This is all starting to feel a little spooky, but there is only an hour left before we board the overnight train to Vienna so I hope I can hold the umbrella close that long.

About midnight on the train I think about the green umbrella and realize that it's somewhere back in Venice.

I'm starting to worry about short-term memory loss....all the ministrokes, advanced age, bad genetics and various forms of self-abuse may be taking a toll....

It's astounding
Time is fleeting
Madness takes it's toll...

But listen closely...

Not for very much longer...

 I've got to keep control.

I remember doing the Time Warp.
Drinking those moments when
The blackness would hit me.

And the void would be calling.

Let's do the Time Warp again.
Let's do the Time Warp again.

-Rocky Horror Picture Show

A Bridge Too Far

The best way to navigate in Venice is to count on the map bridges that need to be crossed to reach a destination.

Last night we search out the Bistrot de Venzia restaurant, which is the first cross alley after nine bridges from our hotel. My navigation is flawless.

We hit a couple of art museums during the day.

Dinner is very good. These little morsels are related to crawfish.

 Our hotel has a surprise garden in back. I'm sitting in it as I type since I have a bad sore throat and need a down day before we take the overnight train to Vienna tomorrow.

 Reflections in a canal.

 The middle-aged couple next to us at the restaurant had just been married that day. We offered them our congratulations and best wishes.

 People write their names on locks and leave them on bridges. I think it symbolizes a hope that love will be eternal...

 Stuff in a store window.

 The piazzas in Venice have these old capped off wells...wonder how the old timers dealt with salt water intrusion?

More reflections in a shop window.

Venice, Italy

We take the regional train from Cinque Terra to Milan and another train to Mestre, just outside Venice.

It's kind of neat that when I put the pix from both I phones in one directory and then rename all the photos in one batch, that they end up being arranged by time down to the second. So when Mrs Phred and I take pictures of each other, they are only 2 seconds apart and right together.

The walk to the train in Mestre is about a mile from our apartment so we take the number 7 bus that stops just outside.

The bus is fairly sardine-like so on the 3rd day we decide to do a day trip to Verona and then move in to Venice for days 4, 5 and 6.

Lots of canals, gondolas, pizza and bridges.

We stroll down toward San Marco and stop to introduce ourselves to Sergio, a friend of Mrs. Phred's sister, who owns a wonderful restaurant.  He invites us in for a glass of wine, and we share a few stories.

Sergio's restaurant is the Bistro de Venice which Frommers lists as one of the best place to eat in Venice. We make reservations for Monday at 7  PM.

There is a five course dinner available with traditional regional foods.

HE  suggests that we explore a quiet section of Venice where the real people live and hang out their laundry.

I should have a happier look...that gelato is good.. Stupid spell check can't spell gelato!!!

I think I ran out of things to say before I ran out of pictures...

Our apartment WiFi kept failing so I'm way behind on my blog.

My apologies to my faithful reader...or maybe now there's more than one?

If you have to ask what a gondola ride costs, don't take one.

Wine is only about a euro a bottle in the grocery store, but the restaurants mark it up about 1600 percent.

This mask was only 350 euros. If I had a house and a bigger suitcase, I might've bought it for a wall or for Halloween...