adventures in venice

My third connection on my way to Venice, a bus, arrived in the station 2 minutes too late for me to catch my next train, so I was stuck in Bellizona for 2 hours. It was actually pretty nice-- I bought some lunch at the local Migros (building shaped like Kresge auditorium) and took an elevator to the top of a castle there. The view was spectacular, and gave me a chance to get oriented and find the train station again. I also bought a skirt at a shop that was having a sale. It proved a wise choice as the hot weather was unbearable in my jeans.
The trains in Italy were hot and running late, and I didn't arrive in Venice until 7pm (I had left Davos at 7:30am). My first purchase was a map. This turned out to be my most valuable possession in Venice. I found out that I wouldn't be able to get into the apartment I was staying in until around 9, so I walked around town and treated myself to some gelato. When Nisha and Laura did get home, Laura and I set out to see Piazza San Marco at night. We also met up with Sarah and Stephen and sat down with them at a café along the Grand Canal. I had my first spritz. We sat there until 1am, then walked home. Laura and I were up at 7:30 the next day to get to the Doge's Palace by 9am. On the way there, we stopped at a little café for a breakfast of pastries. We got to the palace just as it was opening and didn't have to wait in line too long to get in. We bought the recommended audioguide and spent the next 2 hours walking around the palace/museum. We left exhausted and looked for lunch. We finally settled on sandwiches at a restaurant right next to the academia bridge. An American/French couple sat at the table next to ours and chatty. They asked us what we were visiting, where we were from, and even shoed us pictures of their young children. Laura was eager to get away from them. In the afternoon, we did some shopping, and then I went to visit St. Mark's Basilica. It was beautiful inside, everything covered in gold. I paid extra to go behind the main altar and see the gold jeweled altar veil. Back home, we relaxed a little from the heat, and waited for Nisha and Holly to get home. It turned out that they hadn't bought tickets to the show we were supposed to see, so we just went out to dinner instead. The restaurant had great pizza and the wine was cheaper than the water. Then we went for a long walk, with a break for gelato in a little piazza. We finally got home around 1am with very sore feet. I was out the door by 7 the next morning to go to St. Mark's Basilica for Mass. Then I bought my lunch for the train ride and headed home. The train back was just as hot, but fortunately not late, and I got to Davos by 7:30pm.