Venice When It Drizzles

I can hardly believe I’ve been to ITALY. Of course, that’s probably because I spent about 12 hours there and hadn’t gotten any sleep the night before I arrived…..

Paul, Amy, and I opted for cheap seats on the overnight train from Vienna to Venice. When we got on the train, our seats were folded down into beds (the more expensive option). We checked with the conductor, who basically shrugged and told us it was fine. I got Ian tucked into bed next to me around 9pm. He had been fast asleep for an hour, when a new conductor got on the train and came into our compartment, turning on the lights and folding up the empty beds. He brusquely informed me that our compartment “wasn’t for sleeping”. Poor Ian, startled awake and confused, began to cry. And he didn’t go back to sleep until 4am. In the meantime, other people crowded into our compartment (mental note — buy a private compartment next time!), and our air conditioner stopped working. That was a miserable 12 hours.

Yeah, we were overjoyed after that train ride…

We arrived in Venice, grumpy, hungry, and wondering why we didn’t spend the small fortune it would have taken to get a sleeping compartment. Plus it was cold — I was freezing in the warm-weather outfit I brought, and had to add a coat and scarf. Jessica (my favorite fashionista!) and her husband, Aaron, met us grumpies on the steps of the train station and introduced to beautiful Venezia. Their kind welcome went a long way in helping us feel better.

We took a water taxi to Piazza San Marco and had lunch at a nearby cafe (which had flower boxes and awnings just like in Lego Indiana Jones!). We then walked through the city, marveling at the buildings and snapping pictures. Paul, Amy, and I were stilled pretty dazed, so our modus operandi was “I’ll take a picture of this now and figure out what it is when I have had more sleep.” Jessica and Aaron did a great job pointing out the beautiful sights and keeping us from falling into any canals.

After walking for awhile, Amy and I decided to see if we could upgrade our train compartment. Of course, we didn’t account for the volcano hysteria taking over European travel. The lines for tickets to anywhere were LONG and SLOW. I waited in one line while Amy searched for information in several other lines. She finally found an information agent, and when she asked about upgrading our tickets, he laughed at her. Laughed. Eventually he apologized and explained that should be grateful to have any ticket going anywhere. Right. Sigh.

With the Nicholson contingent of our group about to fall down, we decided to settle in at a cafe and order various forms of chocolate. Sitting outside the restaurant, talking and eating and watching passersby, felt so awesomely European that we decided this might be the best way to spend the rest of our day. We used our cafe table as a base and took turns exploring nearby sites, but mostly we just sat and enjoyed each others’ company. The sky, which had looked threatening all day, burst open in the early evening, and we watched the almost-cinematic flurry of people run for cover. Absolutely amazing.

Fun times with Aunt Amy and Aunt Jessica.

Ian, by the way, was a champ during this entire visit. He slept happily in his stroller, at times on a river taxi, often protector by his rain cover. I know he was excited to see his Aunt Jessica again — she has been one of his favorite people!

Eventually we all had to part. I was so sad to leave Jessica, but I was happy to see how much she loves Italy. She was a great translator during our visit!

Our train ride back was mostly better….Ian slept most of the way, so we were rather immobilized, but overall it was a more comfortable trip. And yes, the information agent was right — we were lucky to have seats. The hallways of the train were crowded with people standing shoulder to shoulder, trying to get home.

I don’t know if I’ll go back to Venice. It was an interesting city, but I barely remember it. The highlights of my day definitely were spending time with my family. And what can compare to that?