This morning, we left a Austria for Venice Italy. We stopped below the Dolomites and had to hot Cocoa’s for a mere 7000 lira. Note, one US dollar was approximately 2100 Lira at the time of this writing. 

I find myself sleeping a lot on the bus and I’m sure some of those around me don’t appreciate my snoring, but it something I cannot help. I do sleep well at night but on the bus it’s almost as if is a throwback to when I was a kid. We would take a long road trips from Indianapolis to Chicago and with nothing to do,  I would get bored. I learned how to sleep in the car. I’m just glad that doesn’t happen when I drive.

We arrived in Venice around 3:30 PM and took a small walking tour. After the tour we, our group got into some gondolas for a trip around some of the canals. While it was nice, I would have liked to sit next to Teresa. Instead, we shared it it with Chris and Chad, and Tony and Rachel (our Australian couple). And the gondolier moved us around to balance the load.  

Venice, we learned, was the city of masks. During much of the renaissance, the government and high ranking officials clashed. People would accuse one another of crimes and assassinations were commonplace. People wore masks to hide their identity. Masks became fancy and part of the dress. Today, they come in all shapes, size, colors and prices.

After we left Venice we went back to hurt our hotel. What a disappointment! The room had just one small bed,  no tub just a shower, a small window hung high on the wall to let in light. That was okay as there was nothing around it. It was like a road stop, no tell motel. Dinner, I will admit was not bad. Afterwards, Chris, Chad, Teresa and I played euchre until midnight.