Ciao to Venice!

Up early this morning, showered and ready for the day.  I tried to finish up the blog I could NOT do last night, but Internet was slow, and the downloading of photos was challenging.  Did not get much accomplished.  Breakfast was served from 8-9:30 a.m. at our home, and Diane and I were the first ones out there.  Imagine that!  The breakfast spread that Luigi had laid out was unlike any one I had ever seen, even at the best restaurants!  There were a plethora of fruits, such as pears, apples, tangerines, bananas, grapes, apricots, prunes, dates, and even figs!  There were also croissants, rolls, bread, rice cakes, and a couple of different breakfast cereals.  The condiment selection was unlike anything I had ever seen...  honey, butter, peanut butter, Nutella, cappuccino flavored spread, and on and on.  Luigi made both Diane and I a coffee as we sat down to a feast.

After we ate, we had a bit of time before our 10 a.m. checkout and decided to blog (me) and check emails, Facebook, etc. (Di).  Again, didn't get too much done, but it was better than nothing.  We had to check out of our room by 10, and our train wasn't until 1:30, so Luigi said we could leave our bags at his house while we checked out the city.  Diane and I set out in a direction (no idea WHICH direction!) and walked.  Of course we walked and walked.  This part of Venice was definitely NOT as interesting and pretty as the one we spent time in last night.  But, we had a nice walk, the sun was hidden by clouds which made for a cool walk.  Since it was Sunday, the streets were quiet, but the bells in the churches were not.  At the end of each mass, the bells would toll and toll.  So beautiful to hear them ring out into the still morning.

Not a whole lot to see here, and after an hour or so, we decided to to find a place for lunch and check the train station to ensure that our ticket would work there.  We found a nice place right across from the train station and decided (after we saw the WiFi sign) that it would do nicely.  Diane and I walked back up to Luigi's and picked up our luggage.  As we started to walk down the sidewalk towards our restaurant (and our later train) it started to rain.  Just some sprinkles, but steady enough that Di got her sweater on.  We plopped ourselves down at the cafe and ordered a lunch of meat lasagne, grilled vegetables, and a huge mixed salad.

Had a wonderful lunch and due to WiFi I was even able to get a little bit more on my blog done.  :)  Then it was time to cat a train...  our LAST train for this vacation.  It's hard to believe that we are getting close to the end of this dream vacation.  Train arrived exactly on time and we boarded.  First class, first car, seats 3 and 4.  Our seats were facing each other with a nice table in between.  This is the best seats that we have had the entire trip.  It's a 3 1/2 hour trip to Rome. Another short night leaves me the hope to try and get a quick power nap if I can.

Countryside was beautiful, but different than the surrounding countries.  Started to see more vineyards and more fields that had already been cultivated.  I worked on typing my blog, trying to catch up.  Diane was finishing a Danielle Steele book.  We got a complimentary glass of sparkling wine, which was very nice and unexpected.  The first class trains definitely range in what you get, or don't get.  This was our last train ride for our fabulous holiday, and it is amazing that our time is coming to an end.  Every day seems to hold something more spectacular and surreal than the day before.  Diane and I are excited to finally be in Rome and see what that ancient city holds for us to see.