Getting Here

Venice and my guess is breakfast is still several hours away, so I thought I would take someWell, it is 5am here in time to record the trip over.

Man it was a very long day. I left for the airport at 3pm so I could drop Bailey off on the way. Traffic was unbelievably easy, as was parking. Managing all my bags was a bit of a chore, but it seems every time I had to lift them on or off the bus, there was always a friendly gentleman there to help me. But I was still very relieved when I got them checked in and didn't have to lug them around. The biggest pain in the butt was my laptop which I had in my backpack. Note to future self... next laptop must be much lighter. It also barely fit in the backpack, so getting it in and out for security checkpoints (of which I had to go thru three!), was a major pain.

Virgin Atlantic is a fabulous airline! First, there was almost no line to check in at all and even though it seemed my bags weighed a ton, there was no extra charge. I wonder if it will be the same on the way home once I have done all my shopping. I may have to throw away some of my own clothes!!

Security lines were definitely tough thru the entire trip. Dulles was the first and it took a good 45 minutes to get thru it. I made it to my gate with time to stop for a coffee and croissant before boarding the plane. The flight was very nice. First it was half empty, so once we took off, I was able to nab a row of four empty seats and stake them out for a bed. It was tough though. The second the seatbelt light went off folks jumped for them, but I was smart enough to place a book on a seat during takeoff, which allowed me to point out that I had already claimed my territory.

So I settled in, gathered my pillows and a blanked, and prepared a bed hoping that I would be able to get some sleep in a night when I had no reason to expect any at all.

Virgin Airlines is now one of my favs and I think I will leave United for them. The ability to watch a choice of movies or shows, see how far we have traveled, or to play games, right on the seatback in front of me was very nice. I was also surprised that even in economy they feed you a real meal... AT NO CHARGE! WITH FREE ALCOHOL!!!! Well, as you can imagine, after my two glasses of wine and my nice dinner, I was fat and happy and was able to lie down. It wasn't a deep sleep because I woke up on and off the whole time and it wasn't the most comfortable bed in the world. But I think I managed to get about 2 hours worth of sleep out of the 6 hour flight. Better then nothing!

London... what a mess that place is. First of all there was some confusion about who my next flight was with. I thought I continued with virgin atlantic which would mean I had to go to terminal 3. It seemed a bit odd to me that I was one of very few going to that terminal. Security was only allowing one carry on, so I had to think fast and shove my purse into my backpack and go thru security, only to find out that I was in the wrong place. My connection was thru British Midlands so I had to go back to terminal one.

To my dismay, so did one million other people. The security line was huge. Then I stood in line at the BMI counter for a good 30 minutes to make sure I was checked in, which I was and I could proceed downstairs to the gate waiting area. They don't tell you the gate for your flight until about an hour before it takes off, so everyone sits in this area where there is food and shopping and internet access while we wait to find out what part of the maze we must scurry off to next.

At this point, I was beginning to feel a bit worn out and frazzled. I stopped to have a latte and tried to get myself to eat some nuts. Big mistake. I ended up having to be ill in the bathroom. My blood sugar was dropping and I was tired, so of course I start to have an anxiety attack. I tried to distract myself by listening to my ipod... many programs seem to have been damaged going thru the x-ray machine and had no sound to them. What a bummer. I finally got my gate number and headed over. I saw a few coke machines and tried to buy one, but they only take Euro coins and all I had was paper money.

I was finally able to distract myself a bit by talking to a very nice elderly gentleman at the gate. We discussed george bush and how he was surprised that we can have a leader of a country with such a small following and not have any uprising. I was ashamed to think that it is just because most of America doesn't care enough to do anything about it.

So we boarded the plane and I was able to get some orange juice from the flight attendant. It's amazing how a half of glass of juice can make you feel so much better. This flight was very full, but luckily I had a window seat because flying over the Alps was absolutely beautiful. It was a real upper for me at that point. I was tired, sick and wondering why on earth I would volunteer for such a long horrible journey. But seeing those beautiful mountains and the cute villages reignited my excitement. The flight was only two hours long so it wasn't so bad.

I showed my passport, got my bags and trucked over to the water taxi area. The man seemed surprised that I wanted my own water taxi to the hotel since it was so expensive and seemed to make fun of me when all I had to tip him for handling my very heavy bags for me was a 5 Euro note. I know it was a lot of money but at this point I was so worn out, I would have paid a lot more just to get to my hotel.

The water taxi was expensive, but also so fun. I got a few shots of the view out the back at a few things we passed and I have to tell you, it was sunny and warm and the air was fresh and the town is like nothing I have ever seen. Better then any fairy tale. Just beautiful.

It was probably around 3 or so by the time I got to the hotel. The Dei Dogi is a beautiful place. The room is small, but well appointed. There is high speed internet and a large comfy bed. A lovely marble bathroom and my small windows look out on a quiet courtyard. I have no seen and tried my first beday (badai?)... not sure I am a fan. There is also some kind of corded thing in the shower and I haven't a clue what it is for.

I called down to try to get some food and wine. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed, but the promised to send up a glass with some "toast". I was literally expecting some toasted bread. Turns out "toast" is what they call paninis here and they were ham and cheese. It was delicious!

So I ate, checked my email, tried to watch some TV in Italian before I realized it was hopeless and I was not going to be able to understand anything that was going on, then decided to go out for a quick walk around and to have a cigarette and find an ATM. The directions the receptionist gave me to the ATM were so funny. She said go straight across three bridges and it will be on the right. Imagine my shock when I actually found it! This place is like a maze. Tiny little alleys are main roads, some lead nowhere at all. Others come to bridges that lead to more alleys. Once I found my hotel again, I decided to try some aimless wandering just to see what it was like. After a few twists and turns and dead ends, I realized I really needed to stay close to the hotel unless I had my map with me. And I am really wishing I had a compass.

The one really cute thing was the dogs and cats I encountered. The people don't really seem to notice them much. They are just free in the street. One little pooch seemed to be happy enough to just sit and watch his owner work on the boat. And when I stopped to pet him, seemed surprised that anyone would do such a thing. But he was fat and happy and I could tell he was just in his element.

Another dog I saw was just walking the streets and had stopped for a stare down with a large fat orange cat. He was very friendly and was happy that I stopped to pet him. I also took a minute to point out to him that the very large cat he was trying to intimidate would probably eat him alive. By the time I came back, he was gone and the cat remained, so either he took my advice or the cat actually ate him.

So a couple of ciggies later (I know... my lungs hurt this morning and I plan on one more day of smoking and then no more for the trip... no need to throw away 6 perfectly good cigarettes after all) I made it back to my hotel, showered and decided to call it a night at around 7pm. It was a great night sleep and I feel so much better. But now it is almost 6am and I am hoping that there is a breakfast in my near future. But I don't hear any stirring in the hotel at all, so I may have a long wait. There's juice and water in my mini bar, but I'm sure it will cost me. But if I really need it, I will satisfy myself with that.

I'm going to dress nicely today and do my hair and makeup. There are many cute men here and I was feeling a bit trollish yesterday after the journey.

Today will be a day of walking, eating, drinking, photos and truly trying to see as much of Venice as I can. Tomorrow, I check out and get on the boat and will likely spend that day just relaxing. Then on Monday there is a group tour I will be a part of.

Last night I force myself to just lay down for a bit with some eye pads on and relax and realize that I am in Venice. I AM IN VENICE! The poor mountain girl, who would never amount to anything if you listened to my mother, is in a 5 star restaurant, traveling by expensive taxi, and going on a vacation of a lifetime. I've come a long way in my life and for 5 minutes, I just wanted to force myself to sit down and let that sink in and be grateful for how good things are right now.

I miss my little doggie, but today I will take photos of the dogs of Venice and think of her each time. I will have fabulous wine and a latte and see things that are beautiful and tonight I will make a point of some nice gelato for dessert.

I hope to add some pictures to this post when I get home, but I think I may have left the transfer cord to the camera I was using at home.

Long live Venice!