This picture says it all...poor Dad! Read ahead to find out why...
Ah, Venice. You know, Venice has such a reputation for being so unique and beautiful…and it is, but there are SO MANY tourists that it’s hard to focus on the sights and architecture because you are crammed into these tiny streets with so many other people. Anyway, it is beautiful. But goodness-did we have an adventure here! (Warning: very long story about to ensue!!) We got in very late due to our Salzburg stop, and then had trouble finding the parking garage on the mainland. We finally got all of our stuff and headed, on foot, through the canals and up and over countless bridges (yes, with the stroller, Pack N Play, and all other various baby equipment. Thank you, Dad and Eric, for carrying it!!). We got to our hotel, and amazingly they still had the rooms for us. However, it was not the best night of sleep—the windows were open (no AC) and I got bit by mosquitoes all night long. In the morning, I counted about 8 bites on Jack . . . felt HORRIBLE about that. But the worst was yet to come...
I went downstairs to meet my parents, who had gone to the market to get some breakfast, and found them sitting on a bench. My dad looked funny and I cheerfully said, "Is everything okay?" He just looked at me and said, "No." He then proceeded to painfully recount his trip to the market . . . including the part where he was pick-pocketed . . . and his whole wallet was gone. Driver's licenses, credit cards, debit cards, all his cash, insurance cards, papers for our car lease, the parking lot card (which comes into play later) . . . fortunately the hotel had held their passports, so they didn't lose those. To add to my dad’s misery, the hotel owner was very mean and berated my dad for not having money to pay for the hotel, as he would only accept cash. Finally, he said he would take a credit card, so Eric and I passed over ours. Unfortunately, after that transaction, our credit card (unbeknownst to us) was frozen because we didn't call to let them know we were leaving the country (I didn't know we should do that!) . . . so that left us without very many options...
At this point we are determined to at least get over to San Marco to see the big square and a bit of the Adriatic Sea, since we have hardly seen any of Venice in the daylight. However, we are in a time crunch, because we have to get to Rome by 9 pm or we could lose our apartment there . . . and we have a 5 hour drive ahead of us. SO . . . we collect all our things . . . yes, all the baby stuff, too . . . and head for San Marco. Since we have no money for a taxi or water bus, we head out on foot. This is an amusing picture, as you can imagine, especially since we are all super-paranoid now about our pockets and bags and are constantly checking our backs . . . We wind through the little streets, not exactly sure where we are and lacking a great map. Every now and then we see “San Marco” (with an arrow) spray-painted on a building and so we just keep hoping that it’s the right way. Also, since we don't have any money, we are getting more and more hungry...
I have to stop here and tell a little side story that really helped lighten our dreary mood. All over Europe you will find these people on the street who stand there like statues, usually dressed in one solid color, with their face painted to match. I saw a lady dressed as an Egyptian mummy in Paris, and a man dressed in all gold in Vienna. The thing is, they hold very still and thus they look like statues. Well, we are headed down the streets of Venice, and I see Eric up ahead, walking towards this white statue (he noticed a book in its hand and he went up to look and see what it was). Suddenly, the "statue" lunges forward at Eric with this loud roar and a huge open mouth and wide eyes, and totally FREAKS Eric out . . . who then trips over all the luggage he's carrying and staggers all the way across the street with his hand over his heart — all this, much to all the onlookers’ (and the "statue's") delight. I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. It was good to laugh together after our crazy morning . . . I just wish I had the video camera rolling!! (Notice the re-enactment photo above) Well, back to the journey . . .
FINALLY, we get to San Marco, enjoy the view, take pictures, head out to the coast and take more pictures. It’s beautiful . . . but we are in such a rush! We decide to head to one of the main brides across the Grand Canal, and then try to buy water bus tickets with our credit card (didn't know it was frozen at this point). So we wind around again, following spray-painted signs, stop to attempt a phone call to my parent's bank and credit card company — which proves incredibly frustrating because the people "helping" don't speak English very well, and there are innumerable complications. We eventually make it to the bridge, only to discover that they don't take credit cards. So we find a cash station, and Eric and I get out cash with our debit card. We get water bus tickets, and quickly hop on a waiting bus . . . relieved that we are on our way, only an hour late...
However . . .We got on the wrong bus!! The parking garage we were trying to get to is at the north end of the canal. But we started noticing along the way that we were passing familiar sights that were near San Marco . . . which was in the opposite direction we needed to go. In all our uncertainty, we decided to stick it out, thinking that surely it would loop around in a big circle. This was half-true. Unfortunately, it went all the way to San Marco, and ACROSS to another island before it turned around and slowly wound it's way back past all the stops we had already passed, and slowly, slowly (kept feeling slower and slower!) back to our parking garage. (I have to add here that as much as it was a terribly frustrating experience, my favorite part of the trip so far was this little boat trip . . . .I LOVED being out on the ocean water with such beautiful views!!! Jack loved it, too! See the picture below) So now we are almost three hours late. But not to worry — we are back to the car, all packed up and strapped in, ready to go. We get to the gate . . . but we have no ticket (remember the stolen wallet??)!! We can't leave without a ticket, and the little man standing there won't let us through, no matter what. So we have to BACK UP, through the lines of cars, in a stick shift car, and then park randomly in the middle somewhere. Eric and Dad go running back to the info desk and have to put their acting skills to work as they pantomime what happened to my dad, in order to help them understand why we don't have our ticket. They finally get it, give us a new ticket and . . . we are on the road. Wow. We were so glad to leave that place!! (Another note: Keep in mind that these car rides are often filled with crying, as Jack HATES to sit in his car seat. Also, he inevitably wakes up and is hungry as soon as we have finally found our way and get on the road. So as soon as we left Venice, he started crying and screaming and we had to pull over to feed him. Such is life, I guess.)
Whew . . . on the road to Rome now . . .
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