From my house in Foster City I walked one mile to the bus stop and spent a whole $2.00 to take the express bus to the airport! Arrived three hours early and a good thing too since it took an hour and a half just to check in, and pass through security. Met an artist from Santa Cruz while I was in line so that made the time fly by.
The flight itself was rather horrendous: ten hours long and I got sick in mid-flight. Almost threw up! The attendents luckily had a magic pill that put a stop to my distress. On the flight home I will not be drinking coffee, wine, a heavy meal, and melatonin all within one hour. :-)
After we landed I only had 45 minutes to leap from my first flight to Paris, to my second flight to Venice. Of course the terminal I wanted was on the opposite side of the terminal, and I had to board a mysterious elevator and then follow a blue path to get to the right place. I was out of breath and sweaty along with another dozen people. Made friends with a woman from Boston however, and then the plane door practically slammed on our tail. Whew. Second flight was mercifully short (1 hour and a half.)
My next challenge was to figure out how to operate the machine that administers bus tickets. Gave up and talked to a real person. Had a ticket in hand in 2 seconds. Enjoyed a 20 minute ride in an air conditioned bus that dropped us off at Piazzale Roma in Venice. From there I navigated a number of narrow alley ways and bridges to my apartment in the district of Dorsoduro.
Annamaria (my landlady)was there and it was like meeting a friend...especially since we met in January in person. (I really like VRBO as a place to locate rentals.) Just today she taught me how to shop for vegetables like a local ("do not touch!") and what a mailbox looks like. :-)
Photo: doorway to my patio
Location:Sestiere Dorsoduro,Venice,Italy
