And Finally, Venice...

Today was mostly a travel day with a rather long drive to Venice. We drove through the Appenine Mountains, which are considered the "backbone" of Italy because they stretch all the way from the top of the country down into Sicily. On our trip, we had lunch at a truck-stop cafeteria, and that was quite an experience -- but even there, the food was great! We had risotto and Soave wine -- a crisp white that was just perfect for lunch.

Upon arriving in Venice, we took a water taxi to our hotel. I didn't realize how much in the middle of the water Venice really is. I always thought it was just a town with canals instead of roads. Some people on the bus said it reminded them of driving into the Florida keys. Our hotel is beautiful, but we've barely had time to settle in.

Shortly after checking in, the hotel hosted a little champagne reception and then our guide, Sara, took us on a walk to orient us to the city and to view the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge.

We then strolled back to our hotel and stopped for some delicious pasta with salmon cream sauce. (Sorry, no photo -- sometimes we just forget). As we ate, we watched the locals and tourists stroll along, many of them walking dogs or pushing strollers. It's a very lively, bustling town. Catherine really wants to go for a gondola ride, but we both think it would be weird to do it together alone. A gondola holds six people and costs the same whether full or not. We're hoping to find some other people on our tour who want to share a gondola. We'll have more and better photos tomorrow.