Dateline: Venice, December 29, 2005

We rode a night train from Munich with real berths and all that. Departed at 11:30 p.m. and arrived Venice at 7:40 a.m. Right on time, Ananda. Kathy was thrilled to fulfill a life long dream of spending the night in a sleeper on a train. Lauren also thought it was quite an adventure. We were served pastries and cappucino at 7 a.m. and then walked out of the train station to find the Grand Canal and catch a boat to our hotel. We have just come from the Doge's Palace. Very impressive. Took the tour, walked over the Bridge of Sighs into Prison. Started the day with a gondola ride since it was sunny and not real cold. Maximilian was our gondolier and we had a good time. We wandered all over through the maze of small streets, alleys, passageways, small courtyards, over canals on small footbridges, etc. Doing lots of walking. I had not realized really what Venice was like in geographic terms, but it is a bunch of islands laced together with bridges and there are no cars. To get to it there is a road and train causeway from the mainland which is a mile or more distant. We have a nice room in a quiet neighborhood, Sant Elena. We can walk there or we can catch a vaporetto, public transit boats, and ride for a few stops. Highly recommend this place as as destination. Everything pricey, but it is a unique destination. Tomorrow we go into San Marco's church or on a boat ride to Murano Island, the source of beautiful glass. I am sending this from an internet point business in a small alleyway that we found by wandering. Lauren is sitting next to me sending email to her friends. We take a day train back to Munich on Saturday so we can see the countryside. So far, we've had the best holiday we could expect under the circumstances, and find our appetite for travel only whetted by this trip. Best wishes for 2006 to all.