If I lived in Venezia, I would be poor.

Okay,

So the train ride turned out to be fabulous. We were supposed to have four other roommates in a little bunker so small. I mean really really small. We waited and waited for some weird person to just walk in our room and say it was there room too but no one ever came. LUCKY US! We had our own bunker. All the other rooms were full. It was funny because they had said the train was full. I guess all of our people just didnt show. By the way the reason there are no apostrophes is because this is the italian keyboard and I havent figured out how to use it. (à) is the sign that shows up when I try to use it. So anyhow our train. So it was just the two of us. We met Alessandro our train coachman who was our age. He took our passports which Annaliese and I were completely freaked out by. SO I being the thinker decided that if he was going to have our passports than we were going to have a picture with him. That way I could track him down. ha. Also on this train they all spoke italian. We were still in paris. I kept saying Au Revoir to everyone and they kept looking at me funny. ha. Alessandro tried his best in italian/really bad english to explain that he needed our passports for when we crossed the boarder. There the police would check our passports and train tickets. Alessandro turned out to be a fabulous Venetian who spent most of the night with us teaching us Italian while we taught him English. It was a lot of fun. We got his address and hope to keep in touch. He said he would be our guide but he had to work the next day. We loved Alessandro.

We went to sleep super late but had the best sleep I have had all trip. Alessandro knocked on our door to tell us that we were very close to Venezia. Yeah he should have told us earlier because he only woke us up. SO in a panic we got dressed and packed and by then we made it to the train station. Got off the train and into the station where we booked tickets to florence. Wish we would have waited so we could stay longer there. We walked out of the station and there in front of us was probably one of the most beautiful citys in the world. The canal was right there with gondolas and vaporettos (waterbuses). We took a waterbus (which was so fast and easy) to our stop, san Silvestri. We took a bunch of beautiful pictures on the way.

Once back on to land we found our way through the tiny cobblestone streets with houses looming over us. We had to go under wooden tunnels and through beautiful piazzas. Our hotel B&B Vivaldi was a bit more expensive than a hostel but everything is expensive in Venice. It was the cutest room and it was perfect for us. Wooden beams across the ceiling and a clean shower. We did some of our laundry later that night in the sink and shower. It was really cold at night and we realized we get lost every where we go. So it was just easier to do the essentials there. Signore Franco was there in the day and Signore Marco was there at night. He was a very handsome older man. They were such great people who spoke very good english. In fact many people here speak english.

We left the room and went around the corner and had a Crema. MY NEW LOVE. Oh my a crema is the most wonderful treat. It is so soft and has powdered sugar on top with a custard like filling. I have looked for them here in florence and cannot find them. I guess i will have to go back to venezia. So with a crema in my belly we set out to find our way to san marco square. we found it after stopping in a couple of shops and spending way too much money. We bought murano glass. Beautiful stuff. We actually wanted to go to the island but we go lost trying to find where the boat picks you up. We spent an hour trying to find it and then decided to just not go and actually enjoy what time we had left. We spent the rest of the day shopping in the beautiful stores and taking breathtaking pictures. We went to Rialto bridge for Sunset. SO pretty. I have the best pictures for you all. We also spent a lot of time looking for this pizza place we had passed. it was decided that if you see something in venice, enjoy it because you may never find your way back to it.

We stopped in a glass shop and found Andre, Who was a pure Venetian italian. He LOVED Annaliese and told her he would be her slave. Hahah. He said to her, come in the back I want to show you something. hahaha. I stayed close to the door but couldnt see what was going on. She came out all red. I asked can I see and he said no only for her. ha So he did this two more times because apparently *There is no two without three* So he gave us a great discount, asked her to be his mistress and told her he would give her a plane ticket back to live with him for a year over the grand canal. She blushed and declined. As we left we rounded and corner and she burst out laughing. While my dirty mind thought he showed her something innapropriate she told me he got down on his feet and kissed her boots. The second time he licked them- and the third time he kissed and licked them and then kissed her hand. He really wanted her to stay. hahaha. And better yet he wanted nothing to do with me.

We went to dinner in a deserted resturant where the food wasnt that great. Truth betold I havent had that amazing italian meal I have been dreaming about. Tried gnchocci twice and been dissapointed twice. Sorry about the spelling I am trying to go fast and this computer is too slow to spell check.

Anyhow that is the gist of our day in venice I would have loved to stay another day. We had perfect weather. Blue skies the whole day. It just got really cold at night.

Alright I will write a little blurb for florence not much though I am tired.
I love and miss you all. Keep posting even if it is just to say I love you.
Ciao
Kim