July 5-8, 2007

Venice has become my new favorite city! It is magical. As soon as I stepped out of the train station, I was met by a view of the Grande Canal. It is hard to describe Venices allure, but I must say, that the tiny canals around every bend have something to do with its immense charm and irreplicable beauty. There are no cars in Venice and so, although it is full of people, it feels quite ancient...and indeed it is, with construction beginning in the 6th Century!

Matt and I have spent most of our time wandering the tiny allies and getting hopelessly lost. I am afraid that we probably have not spent nearly as much time as we should, touring the museums, but it is just too much fun to experience Venice on our own!

You may be surprised to find out that Matt is taking to Italy rather handily. He has shed his baseball cap and tall white socks, in favor of his long-ish hair and leather sandals. Indeed, he was not in Venice but for 2 days, before he insisted on buying a pair of genuine original Gucci sunglasses. I directed him towards the vendors with the dozens of knock-off designer glasses, but he would have nothing of it. So, he is now very cool indeed, and if he would just try not to speak to anyone...I had to explain the difference between "Gracias"(Spanish-thank you) and Grazie"(Italian-thank you)...you know its bad when my Italian linguistic skills exceed someonelses :-)...he could be taken for any other Italian on the street :-)