Coming back to the real world is SO hard after spending 2 weeks playing tourist in Italy! I think that I may have slept for the first 3 days. I kept hoping and hoping that there would be some sort of miracle and Eileen and I would be put in those large, plush, comfortable looking first class seats that I could see the corner of from my cramped and uncomfortable coach class seat. No such luck. I suppose we should just be thankful that we were able to fly home without any complications.
Traveling away from my comfort zone always gives me a fresh perspective on my world. I love the sense of adventure. You can pretend to be whatever you wish to be! I chose to be a movie star in Venice, a disciple of Jesus as I stood upon the Appian Way, a slave who worked countless hours to build giant bath houses for the rich folks of rome and one of the rich folks of Rome who enjoyed those bath houses. I spent a few moments imagining that I was Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Julius Caesar ruling my Empire, and wondering if I could become the 2nd female gondolier of Venice.
At the end of each day, I was just happy to plain ole Alice enjoying the eye candy of Italy with 2 of her favorite traveling companions! Thank you to you two for putting up with me and treating me to 10 days of memories that I will treasure forever!
What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories.

- George Eliot

Ciao, ciao! It was a lazy day today. We rode out to the island of Lido and Eileen and I stolled along the sand and picked up shells. It was kind of cold so we didn't stroll too long before we headed back to Venice. The rest of the day was spent strolling the streets of Venice. These are just a few pictures of the beach (Adriatic Sea) and the scene around town.

Burano and gondolas

We started our day with a trip to the colorful island of Burano. Most of Italy is painted with the muted colors of the tuscan sun but not Burano. It is wonderfully colored with pinks and purples and blues and greens! These Italians must have had FUN at the paint store. It is a happy Italian Island. After we got back to Venice, we decided to have a gondola ride. We rode through tiny quiet canals and were serenaded by our gondolier. What a treat to have on such a beautiful day. I hope you enjoy my pictures.

movie stars and master glass blowers

It was a beautiful day in Venice, Italy. We took the water taxi out to the island of Murano to see the famous glass blowers and buy a few choice pieces of that fancy shmancy glass! We all found a goodie or two to bring home and we even found an Italian murano glass dollar tree! I guess people love Dollar stores all around the world! The excitement of our day was that we ALMOST saw Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie! They are filming a new movie, The Tourist, here in Venice and Eileen and I just happened to walk upon the set and No, that is not Angelina in my photo lounging outisde the set on the steps, that is just me :). I couldn't help but ham it up a little bit! I may have to sneak back around there to see if I can see Johnny Depp!!

ash cloud

who knew that our trip to Italy would be consumed by the two words "ash cloud"?? We have watched a whole lot of CNN and BBC but here is the bottom line-nobody knows. We just hope to get home.

Today we hit the Trenitalia Eurostar and made our way through Firenze and Bologna to Venice. We arrived safely in Venice and had dinner sitting along the grand canal followed by a vaporetti ride down to St. Marco square. Our hotel is classic Venice. I told Eileen that I have dubbed our room the "Elvis Suite". It is quite ornate!! I am sure that we will sleep like queens in these fancy beds. The Internet is charged by the minute in Venice, so our blogs will be short and sweet. Say a prayer for us that the ash cloud goes away before Saturday!

tired of Rome yet?

Today we decided to go to the train station in Rome to get our tickets for Venice tomorrow. WOW! This volcano has really put travelers in a pickle. The ticket line wrapped around and about and out and then a little bit farther. We were lucky en ough to get a ticket from a machine and only spent an hour in the station while others, that were having to wait in the lines to speak to a representative, had an all day wait. I just pray that the ash moves out quickly and we can get home on Saturday.

After our tickets, we went to church. They were still observing mass when we got there and were able to watch a bit of a real Roman Catholic mass. The church was incredible(of course everything in Rome is incredible) It was filled with gold from ceiling to floor. The gold was taken from Peru and the Conquistadors. Quite impressive!

Next we took a leisurely stroll down the ancient Appian Way. Pass the church of "Domine Quo Vadis?" This is the site where Jesus was said to have appeared to Peter as he was fleeing Rome. Peter asked, Lord, where are you going? Jesus told him that he was going to be crucified. Peter returned to rome and martyrdom. It is quite moving to walk on a path that was once walked by Jesus.

Next we ate. When your feet get tired and you need a rest - EAT! We have done our share our eating. Tonight, we had CHINESE!!

flash mob italia

One small post note before the day ends in Italy. Eileen and I got to watch a Flash Mob today. We were strolling through the Villa Borghese Park today when we noticed a crowd beginning to assemble and each person had what appeared to be a pillow. We stood and sort of scratched our heads for a few minutes before we heard a horn. They were indeed pillows and suddenly all of these people were involved in a giant pillow fight! One of the pillow fighters came over to tell us that it was a flash mob. We had to look it up to learn more about it, but it sure did look like lots of fun!