How is this thing still afloat?

We had lunch at a charming little tourist trap in Venice, today. Of course, in true Venetian fashion, the price was over the top. A plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce and a few mushrooms should never cost so much... but this is Venice and they will bleed you dry. On the plus side, the lunch was filling and very tasty. The staff were also very attentive and courteous.

After lunch, I explored on my own for a few hours. There is something great about exploring a new place on my own. While I do enjoy occasional sight seeing with others, the freedom of exploring on my own is fantastic as well.

As I explored, I rediscovered the cute little pen shop I'd seen on my first day in Venice. It only took an hour and 15 minutes to find it! I purchased a very nice set, complete with a bottle of ink and 5 or 6 pen tips, and a pen with a tip shaped like the Eiffel Tower. It should be quite fun to give the pens a try when I get home. I just love using dipping pens, they're just so classic.

Passing through Saint Marco's square, I encountered some of the fattest pigeons I've ever seen. Seriously, those pigeons are obese! If you factor in the incredibly high number of tourists that feed them every day, their weight is kind of sad. How can they still walk or stand? How can they possibly fly? It's crazy! They can fly and they fly right at you! Silly, silly birds.


I caught the vaporetto and journeyed over to a lovely park. On my way, I noticed an interesting figure in the water. It looks like a fallen statue, but I think it was always meant to be there. It is beautiful.

The park is in the midst of a lovely garden with lots of trees. The statues are quite worn, but they add a touch of elegance and beauty to an otherwise average park. I sat on a bench and filled out postcards as I relaxed. If you are ever in the mood to get away from the crowds of San Marco's Square, head over to the park. It provides an escape from the hoards of people without leaving you completely secluded. Quite nice.

After leaving the park, I wandered around the crowded alleys of Venice and road an incredibly cramped Vaporetta to the vending area at Rialto. my aversion toward large groups of people grew exponentially. It will be a pleasant change of pace to return to Ambialet, where the canines seem to out number the humans. Venice is lovely and I hope to return one day, but Ambialet can not be beat in its rustic charm and peaceful atmosphere.

There are no words...

or pictures in the world that can do justice to the beauty of Venice, Italy. It is a breath-taking sort of place.

I explored the city with Mom and Dad, stopping for lunch in a little pizzeria/restaurant down a series of alleyways. A quick tip before going on: there are no inexpensive places in which to eat in the tourist trap known as Venice. I am also pretty sure that there are no little restaurants off the beaten path. Be warned and take extra euros!

Apparently "normal serving size" means HUGE in Italy. 2 pizzas would have been more than enough for the 3 of us. However, Mom & Dad each ordered their own calzones while I ordered a pizza (as per the waiter's advice... he must work on commission). As the waiter placed our plates on the table, a rather large group of Asian tourists pointed at us and laughed, gesturing that we were going to be really fat if we ate it all.

They may have found it hysterical, but in reality, they ended up eating much more than we did. The amount was simply hidden by the numerous plates of smaller portions each tourist had. They had many plates of small portions, we each had one plate of a big portion.

Anyway, the food was very good. The price was pretty high, an apparent normality in Venice... they even charge 1,50 euro to use the toilet.

Venice may be a tourist trap, but it sure is a pretty one!

Watch out, Italy! Here I come

I'm enroute to Italy today, with my parents. We will be visiting the lovely Venice as the students explore London for their long weekend break. I plan to do a bit of exploring on my own while in Venice. I enjoyed exploring Barcelona by myself, it always provides for a more interesting adventure.

The flights, themselves, were pretty uneventful. I enjoyed not being frisked going through the security check in Toulouse. I just had to have my bag looked through. Apparently my haphazard way of packing my electronics' cords looks rather alarming when going through an x-ray machine. Ha ha. Oh well. Take that into consideration when packing for your next vacation by airplane.

Our flights were on time and we had no delays in getting to Venice. Both suitcases made their way to Baggage Claim in a timely fashion and we went to pick up our rental car from Hertz. The car is an adorable little model from Fiat called the Panda. It is small, but spacious enough for everyone and the bags to have a comfortable fit.

In true Lynch fashion, we got lost on our way to the ferry. Then again once we reached the island to look for our hotel. When I called the hotel, the woman at the desk was less than helpful in telling us how to find our way. I told her where we were and she merely said things like "No, not there." No helpful words like, "Oh, you're almost at the golf course? Ok, turn around, follow this road, turn here... etc." were provided. Then, as I hadn't charged my phone before leaving, it died halfway through the conversation anyway. Ha. What luck!

Everything turned out alright in the end. We made it to our hotel and I can safely say it is a rather nice place. The lobby is spacious and clean. There are beautiful plants, including orchids, around the main desk and entrance. Our room is pretty nice and the shower's water pressure is fantastic!

I am disappointed that I will not have a usable internet connection this evening, we arrived pretty late and the front desk didn't provide us with the access code. Not to worry, though, tomorrow is another day.