Venezia

First, let me apologize to all of you who check this regularly. I have not been very good about keeping you updated lately. I will try to be better about it.

This past weekend concluded the time Beth and Jill spent with us in Europe. We spent most of it in Venice. I had been once before and feared it would just be a repeated experience. I couldn't have been more wrong. It was a distinctly different trip with very different company.

We arrived late Thursday night after a frantic trip through London's Stansted Airport. The bus had been very late, and after quite a run through the airport, we made it to the check-in desk only three minutes before it closed. Then, we had to make another run for it to get to our gate which was supposedly to board five minutes later. This included getting through airport security. Geez!

Our "hostel" turned out to be a campground. Beth less than lovingly termed the weekend abode "our hut." Basically, we stayed in a small cabin with two bunk beds. Venice is so humid that the sheets on the beds were damp when we got there, and our towels felt like we'd just gotten out of the shower even after being left to dry for a day and a half. Maike and I loved it. What an adventure!

Friday we did a lot of wandering through the city. There was a lot of shopping, a bit of eating, and some exploring of St. Mark's square. We did, of course, partake of the city's gelato offerings. That day we ate lunch in an Italian pasta place operated by a bunch of Asian waitresses. Later that evening, we ate in a ristorante called Orientale that was filled with Italian waiters. Strange, huh?

That evening was quite an experience. Our dinner was at an outdoor restaurant along the Grand Canal, and very fancy. I think we had four courses. Afterwards we went on a gondola ride with a VERY attractive and English-speaking gondolier. I loved that we went at night; Venice has great atmosphere after dark.

Saturday we returned to St. Mark's and went inside the cathedral. While in line we befriended a Jewish lawyer from Texas named Evan. He walked through the church together and it was such a heartwarming experience because we were able to explain what each of the New Testament mosaic images meant. He was so touched by our sharing with him that he bought us all tickets to go to the upper level of the cathedral, where we continued to chat about art, travel, and Jesus. We even exchanged contact information with him so we can keep in touch later. :)

After lunch we went to a glass-blowing demonstration. Then we ended up getting lost and found ourselves wandering through the naval arsenal and in a region called Singapore (on the other side of the city!). At the end of the island is a giardini, Venice's public gardens, where we reclined, had wonderful conversation, and watched the beautiful Italian men walk by.

Sunday we found ourselves having even more airport trouble, with a late flight because of fog and a bus ride that was an hour longer than it should have been, so we scrapped our earlier plans to go to a London Museum. Instead, we had hot tea and dessert and more good conversation.

I think my favorite part of traveling with Beth and Jill is the conversation. That may be my favorite part of friendship with them anyway. I love that we can laugh for hours, cry shamelessly when we need to, discuss politics in-depth, or attempt to uncover the world's spiritual truths. I will miss that desperately, especially now that I've had a short taste of it again. I hope they had as good a time with us as we had with them.