Venice!!

A deep nights sleep from the previous days festivities had us feeling good. On to a little breakfast and then deciding whether to wander around Munich some more or hit the road for Italy. The weather being cloudy and cool, we decided to head south so we could make Venice before nightfall. The drive took about an hour longer then it should've due to road construction again in Germany. There was a little in Italy too, but not enough to consider beyond the realm of what's expected. The drive was really quite beautiful, with the mountainous terrain of southern Germany and northern Italy slowly transforming into the rolling, Italian countryside.

Using a TomTom, or any navigation device is a great tool for driving in foreign places! It does a really great job, but like almost anything else it is not perfect. We have already learned this on several occasions. I realized, with the help of my co-pilot, that I relied on it almost exclusively, forgetting common sense and sometimes even road signs! Not as bad as Michael and Dwight on "The Office", driving into a pond because the device told them to go straight, but getting "brain-lazy" and over-reliant on this technology. So, after driving past the hotel outside of Venice, and going around the block not once but twice, we parked and unloaded. Check in didn't take too long, and it being Sunday we were able to leave the car out front until tomorrow morning. So, we made sure we were happy with the room and then caught the bus in front of the hotel for the 10 minute ride to Venice. That ride reminded me so much of the area right outside the Taj Mahal in India. You basically pass through the "not-so-nice" section of town before you get to the beauty in both places. Between our hotel in Mestre and the drop off point in Venice you've got industrial buildings, railroad tracks, side roads, weeds and scrub brush. It's quite an eyesore. But arrival into the bus lot at Venice changes everything. It's twilight, so I setup the tripod quickly and get off some good shots with the best light of the day. We begin to walk, not getting far before we park ourselves at a canal side eatery for a couple of pizza slices, washing them down with a cold beer for me and a glass of red wine for Radhika. We then take our time exploring the streets and alleys, eventually hearing and following the sound of a piano. It must've been close to 9pm or so when we came upon a small square where 2 or 3 restaurants had setup places for outdoor seating. In one of them is a man dressed in a nice suit, with a black upright piano and glass for tips on top. There were several large trees along with benches underneath them. We got our first gelato at a small vendor who was just about to close, sitting on one of the benches under the Venice stars in the dimly lit square with Girl From Ipanema filling the air. I was thinking the perfect song for him to play next would be one of my Mom's and mine favorites from when I was a boy, "Moon River"...and he did! It was one of those lightning strike moments in life. I called my sister in Tallahassee, but instead spoke with my nephew as Helen was not at home. We sat there listening for a while, tipped the pianist, and began to walk back. Venice was practically empty now, being around 9:30. It was cool having the place practically to ourselves! Making some pictures along the way, we arrived at the pickup area where we caught the bus back to our stop in front of the hotel and we were in the room by 11pm. It was a nice first evening and we looked forward to our first full day in Venice tomorrow.