We Are in Venice

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #13 - September 24, 2009 - 6:50 pm

Well, the water taxi was quite a trip. What a way to make an entrance. But it's a good thing the scenery was so spectacular or the actual oat ride would have had few redeeming qualities. First, it was very crowded - SRO - and when you add to that all the luggage we were dragging behind us -- this was yet another traveling challenge. Second, I was lucky to get a seat and even luckier still when the woman sitting at the window left a few stops into the trip. I was able to move into her window seat and took some GREAT photos along the Grand Canal. Third, it's easy to take too many pictures. Every inch of the trip presents a photo op. Fourth, we got off at the wrong stop. We missed getting off where we should have. We realized our mistake immediately and got off at the next stop, but we had a bit of a hike (with our luggage) to the hotel.

Finally, we made it to the Hotel Wildner. The Hotel is in a great location -- just about 200 yards down from St. Mark's Square. Unfortunately, our rooms were not ready. Also, on the inside, this hotel is the least impressive of the three we've stayed in. On the positive side, the bathroom is surprisingly nice. Our rooms are on the third floor (me and Chris) and fourth floor (Dad) -- and there is NO lift. Let's just say, we got our exercise at the Hotel Wildner.

Because our rooms were not ready, and it was late, it made sense to take a lunch break. Conveniently, the Hotel has a restaurant out front. As Hotel guests, we get a 10% discount! We had a nice simple lunch. Dad and I had salad and Chris had pizza. Do you see a theme here? And when we were done with lunch, our rooms were ready.