Venice....beautiful decay

Ciao!

Wonderful thunder, lighting, and pounding rain this morning kept me
snuggled in bed with my book for a while. Ahhh, I really miss storms
like that! Another benefit to the East Coast I guess :)

The rain let up a bit, and so I ventured out for lunch and a visit to
the Peggy Guggenheim museum. I originally tried to make it to a
restaurant that Jen and my "chef friend" from the enoteca in Bologna
recommeded (one of only two Michelin-starred restaurants in Venice),
but alas I didn't make it in time. Instead, I took my chances with a
little cafe near the museum. Incredibly overpriced, but my meal of
tagliatelle with crab was quite delicious.

Last night was FUN! One low point in the evening, but the rest were
all highs. I met up with the "pub crawl" tour on the Rialto Bridge at
6pm. I hung back a bit at first, wanting to survey the group as I
knew it was going to be larger than normal - about 13 - and so wasn't
sure if it might be too tough to be a singleton amidst that number.
But, everyone seemed to be jovial, and in small groups of only 2-3, so
I jumped in.

The first bar we went to, there was much house Cabernet consumed. And
fried cheese. Yup, for a bar snack, the Venetians believe in "fried
mozzarella sticks" - except it's actually delicious squares of fresh
mozarella that's fried up. YUM! Everyone did introductions, and come
to find out, there was a couple from Bellevue and a guy from Seattle
in the group (his wife doesn't like to travel to foreign countries so
he goes it alone). Everyone was super friendly, and really great to
talk with.

We hit two more bars after that, including the oldest one in Venice
still in operation (from the 1800s). After we paid our tour guide, we
decided we still all wanted to hang out, so we went to a nearby bar
for more drinks. Up until this point, I had been carrying around a
small bag with two white tshirts in it, which I had purchased before
the tour. Why? Well, the white shirt I brought with me (and keep in
mind I only brought 5 total to begin with) had wandered off at some
point in the trip. So, I wanted another one. Well, I accidentally
left them in the bathroom of the bar, realized my mistake and went
back, and they were gone. Note to self: do not carry around
unnecessary packages during a night of drinking, as keeping track of
one's purse is challenge enough. So, that was the low point I
mentioned. It was about a $45 loss - so not catastrophic, but hey -
that's dinner out!

The group started to thin out a bit, and it was at this point that I
finally started chatting with Wendy (photo below). I had thought she
was with a group of Florida ladies who had been on the tour, but
actually she was traveling alone too. She's a Psychologist from Napa,
and a total kick in the pants. She also quickly became my hero with
her explanation behind one of the "perks" she finds in traveling.
I'll leave it at that :). But let's just say I could take a few
lessons from her on being bold, not being afraid to make eye contact
with men, etc.

Pretty soon, it was just the Bellevue couple, Wendy, and me. We all
got along famously, and shared a final bottle of wine together on the
square. It was great fun! About 11:30 we all said our goodbyes and
gave hugs; unfortunately Wendy was moving on to the Cinque Terre in
the morning, but we exchanged info in case either of us are in the
other's neighborhood in the future.

The Peggy Guggenheim museum/collection today was fabulous. Mostly
Impressionistic and Surrealistic art, which is a great change of pace
from the last month's ancient sights. I also listened to a brief
presentation about Peggy the individual - what a fascinating lady. A
book about her will be the next I pick up!

Tonight will be dinner and packing....goodnight until tomorrow - and
Paris!!