Day Six: The Floating City

Venice was easily my favorite part of the trip. There were no cars, the sea breeze was lovely, and our room had air conditioning. I also found a great book called Venice: Tales of the City, which gave me an excellent literary companion. I wish I could find a book about every city I visit; it really was an excellent thing to have.

Before leaving Rome, we visited another farmacia in the train station; there we found a much more potent cough syrup. It tasted horrible (always a good thing in a cough syrup) and started working instantly.

The train ride was quite nice, if long. I sat across from a mother and daughter; Diane faced a priest who was apparently pretty rude with his foot placement. (Not much leg room on the train to Venice.) Between his being God's servant and not speaking Italian, Diane couldn't find a polite way to say "Stop kicking me, you freakin' priest!"

The hotel was very easy to find, right near the train station. We took it easy in Venice at first — we chilled in the room (literally, thanks to the refreshing AC), then went for an early dinner. The city was packed with tourists, and also had a lot of local folks walking their dogs. The restaurant staff gave bits of bread to passing canines.

After dinner we walked around a bit at sunset, then turned in early. The day ended with the cough abating quickly. Huzzah!

Next: American Cultural Blowback