VENICE
The hotel in Florence was abuzz with activity this morning prior to the 10:42 parade of taxis that took us to the train station. Our Eurostar train was on time but boarding was very slow due to the luggage. The boys on the trip were tasked with forming suitcase brigades to quickly pass bags up from the terminal into the train cars. The trains appear to be set up primarily for the local Italian commuter and not the traveler. What this means is that the luggage areas are completely inadequate for student groups like ours. The suitcases are just too big and don’t fit well anywhere. Therefore we are forced to leave our luggage in the walkways and near the exits. The latter location is a great temptation for thieves, so at every stop we had designated members of the luggage brigade who watched to make sure it didn’t go anywhere.
We arrived safely after an almost 3 hour train ride that included 5 stops, but went through some very beautiful eastern Italian countryside. We then hired a ferry to take us around the Grand Canal to our hotel where we unpacked and had a chance to relax and explore. Venice is interesting after Florence. There are of course no cars on the streets and no Vespas and it is much quieter here. At 7:30 we had dinner together at Ristorante San Trovaso, were we dined on spaghetti with clams (not a favorite of many students), then breaded chicken, radicchio, spinach, French fries, and our choice of three different desserts (fresh fruit, gelato covered pastry, or tiramisu). Of course all restaurants are notified prior to our arrival as to those who have special dietary needs.
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