The ABCs of Greece & Italy! X, Y, and Z, and that Friends is THE END!!! :) See you in Asia and Australia, Join Me THERE!!

[Steppesister]

Dear Reader, the chapters may come in fits and spurts for a while. My days are wholly devoted to writing papers and researching all things nursing management. I try very hard to make time for those I love, eat occasionally, get some sleep, etc… leaving less time than I’d like to tell this story. So, as with all of my Trip Reports, I’ll ask once more for patience. I do hope you enjoy reading as much as I know I will enjoy telling it. There were some really wonderful moments, so not-so-good bits, scary situations, difficult circumstances, tipsy times, and delicious bits along the way. Now, come away with me to the Southern Mediterranean! And, yes, I realize this is the WDW sub-forum. But I will justify leaving it here for a few reasons: 1. This trip was, in a large part, inspired BY Disney World, 2. A story adapted by Disney most definitely comes into 2 chapters, and 3. I've been Trip Reporting faithfully on the DIS for over 15 years. This is where my readers, most of them personal friends, know where to find me. It keeps it simple for me and everyone else. If the Mods see fit to move it, I'll be disappointed, but will carry on in hopes you'll find me again. For that reason, I humbly ask you to subscribe in and access it through "Followed threads" in case that happens.

(Yes, we start with the boring chapter of travel. Just get through it; it won’t be so bad.)

*********************************************************************************************


A is for: After 3 Years, I'm Finally On My Way!!!​

“Mom, I can’t find my passport!”


I took a deep breath and tried not to panic, but, Hello, Girl!, You have 24 hours to find it! Hopefully your dog will poop by then and you can check that. Not that it would matter, if you can't find it, you ain't goin'.

Everyone was packed well before now, except my daughter Michaela, who’s far too busy for trivial things like making sure her passport, the singularly most important item to pack for an international vacation, was in order.

Two hours later, she texted this photo.

​

Yeah, it wasn’t too far off-base when I told her to check the dog doo. Moms know.....

While I was, obviously, very happy she could join us, I was a little sad as well. I'd gotten this personalized passport holder for her Christmas gift 2 years earlier to use on the trip that we were all supposed to go on.


Covid test kits: Check!

Formalwear: Check!

Photo gear: Check!

Charging cords: Yep!!



Let go!!



It’s 7:30AM on Oct 1st and we, my mom and dad and myself, were on our way to my mom’s brother’s house so he could take us into Nashville for our flights- for the first time in forever our flights weren’t stupid early, although I was up at 4:00 or so. No idea why. <abject sarcasm inserted here>


One suitcase, one roll-y bag (BEST bag EVER!!!!, which isn’t made anymore. Sorry ‘bout that.), a very small purse, and a straw hat that can’t pack. Yes, I had to wear it on every plane, train, boat, and bus. Perhaps it made me easier to spot in a crowd. Perhaps it was to become just a pain in the culo. (Hint, that’s Italian.)

​

Okay, let’s talk about the best $80 I’ve spent this year. After a quick trip to Hendersonville, 30 minutes away from home, a few minutes of my time in the office, and $80 later, I had a handy-dandy TSA Pre-check number all to my little ol’ self. “Little ol’ self,” I say to myself, “you done yourself right this time!” I've saved hours of frustrating time with it.

All 3 of us breezed through security in less than 5 minutes, and before we knew it, we were camped at our gate left to our own thoughts and lost in lattes. The flight to Newark was wholly uneventful, which in this day and age is a minor miracle and rather a sigh of relief.

Here's my awesome seat from Nashville to Newark. I'll take an exit row any day of the week!

​

With enough layover time to avoid the Airport 2-mile-I-Hope-I-Make-It-Marathon we found our next gate in the next county over. This is where I got my first real glimpse of how much Mom would struggle on this trip. I can’t be sure, but my phone may have adjusted another time zone when we finally found an appropriate eatery for dinner. A full hour before boarding our 777 Dreamliner (YES! Finally got meself on one of those behemoths, woot!) we enjoyed a little wine, a little pasta (Oh my Lordy, if I’d known what my diet would consist of for the next 31 days…) and a nice salad (should have savored that part more). As we were eating, the crew of about 25-30, not even kidding a little bit, boarded and the hordes of 312+ people were beginning to queue as well.

​

The line for our “Group” was long. VERY long. Luckily, a gate agent saw my mom fidgeting with her cane and looking uncomfortable and with resolute authority simply said to us, “Follow me, please.” Rather confused, she led us to a roped off area for pre-boarders and that was that. Within 5 minutes we were on the aircraft and settled in.

Now… this leads me to... Discussion Time with Steppe:

I don’t know about y’all. I have a theory that there are 2 kinds of air travelers. Refute me, if you dare. One type wants to be first to board. You know who you are. You bought into a credit card so you could be in the pre-pre-pre-boarding group. Personally, I’m in the other sector who is happy as a clam sitting at the gate charging my phone, sipping my latte, (or glass of wine if I’ve wanted a more comfy seat), chatting with someone, or whatnot for as long as possible. Why on EARTH would I want to get into a cramped seat and sit close enough to smell my neighbor’s breath one microsecond longer than I need to? Just… no. The only advantage I can see is overhead baggage space. I don't carry a ginormous bag and it almost always fits under my seat. I've never once had to check it, and even if I did, big deal. It's free, you can fit your earbuds, charging cord, and phone in a pocket, you get your bag back at the gate, and unless you accidently mistook a laxative for your vitamin, you probably don't need your change of clothes for a few hours.

I'm always open to discussion of hot topics. Which side of the Boarding Coin do you fall?

Moving on. And up. This time to Frankfurt. You might be asking what the flight was like...

I have no idea. I slept for almost the entire 7 ½ hour cross-pond trek. Ambien FTW! Yes, my neck hurt. Yes, my carry-on was too high for me to reach, so…. No couldn’t brush my teeth. But I was hungry since I’d missed both meals. So, I asked for one when I went potty. (For those who’ve read my TRs before and are now wondering, yes, that was the only time I went. Shocking, I know.) What may also come as shocking to you (okay, probably not) is that yours truly was sitting in the cattle car section, but it wasn’t all that bad. I mean, in some ways it was almost like being in Business Class. I paid Economy fare, but got a 2-seat row in the bulkhead, Baby!! Doesn’t wine taste the same out of a stemmed glass as it does out of a plastic single-use cup? (Okay, actually maybe not, according to actual science and research and personal experience, but on a plane and for several thousand dollars saved, I'll take a Dixie cup.) I mean, if I’d had a glass of wine, which I didn’t. (But could have; it's free at any time on must trans-Atlantic flights.) Instead, when I went to the galley to ask for a snack, I was handed a lovely tray of fresh fruit, a beautiful hunk of brie, some nice quality ham with a croissant and roll. (I really like using parenthetical commentary!)

​

“I couldn’t find anything from this galley, so I went to First-class and grabbed this one for you.” “Why thank you, thank you very much for this $300 snack.”

We touched down a scooch early into Frankfurt, sailed through Immigration in zero minutes (happy to get a new stamp and, to add a smidge of foreshadowing, EU Immigration is not always smooth like this was...), took a ridiculously long walk to the puddle jumper terminal, and after a short 2 1/2 hour flight arrived in Venice a little early. This gave us even more time to try to stay awake until Mikki’s flight arrived over an hour later. Which leads me to tell the sad saga of Mikki’s travels by way of Canada. The short version is if you have a choice of booking airline travel through Canada, do not. She described nothing short of an absolute poop-show in Vancouver. The line at Immigration was hundreds deep. There were a LOT of very angry people actually yelling and getting very testy with agents. She, after FAR more time than should ever be spent on getting on a connecting flight (EVER!), joined many, many others running to catch flights that most would probably miss.

Now some of you know I’m full of opinions. Sorry not sorry. But here’s my take on connecting internationally. Why on Earth should someone simply connecting from one flight to another who never leaves the sterile zone (ie, cannot, or does not, leave the area on the other side of security) have to go through this process?! Ok, technically, sure they are on X’s “soil”, but really? Make them stand in line for an hour? 2 hours? So the agent can look at the passport and say thanks? Why not allow travelers who do not leave to just get to their gate, and if they do decide to go outside for a smoke or who might have enough time to exit and come back, make those folks go through the Immigration entry and re-entry process. This can be controlled and ensured. For goodness sake, the airline itself keeps a detailed record of who's on every flight and can and should just fill in the gap by providing the passenger manifest upon landing. My entire class that I’m wading my way through right now is about Quality Improvement in Healthcare, Value-based Care, and Process Improvement Science. Ummm… maybe there can be some lessons and principles applied here in the travel and immigration sector. Better, more streamlined processes are just a suggestion. Then again, it's a government operation.... what more can I say?

Anywho, Mikki made it to Venice just as tired as we were. I took the hour wait to take care of my proctored Covid test required by Celebrity Cruise Line there in the airport. Funny how 2 ½ years ago if someone saw you shoving a Q-tip into your sinus cavity in an airport, they’d think you insane. Now it’s like, “Awww, bless their heart.”. Obviously, since I’m writing this TR, I was negative. (Just as point of clarification, we all tested at home the day before as well, I mean what would be the point of traveling 24 hours only to arrive and not be able to go on our cruise?)

]
(With 5 kids, this gave me tons of throwback memories.)​

By some miraculous act of God, Mikki’s baggage made it, and soon enough the 4 of us were on our way to the next adventure… actually getting to what we all know and love as Venice.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Hello Steppesister! It’s been a while. I’ve been away from the boards a while. Now I am back. I love that you are a PACU nurse. When I left L&D, I was an L and D nurse and was crossed trained to OBOR and OB PACU. Went to home health for a time. Loved the patients hated the paperwork.
Now I have time for the boards again. The first strip report I start is on of your!! Can’t wait to visit Italy vicariously through you!! Keep writing and I’ll keep reading!

 

[pkondz]

So, as with all of my Trip Reports, I’ll ask once more for patience.

And as with your Trip Reports, of course we'll be more than happy to be patient.

I do hope you enjoy reading as much as I know I will enjoy telling it.

Can't wait!

There were some really wonderful moments, so not-so-good bits, scary situations, difficult circumstances, tipsy times, and delicious bits along the way.

“Mom, I can’t find my passport!”

Hoooo boy. Nice way to stop the ol' ticker just before a trip.

Everyone was packed well before now, except my daughter Michaela, who’s far too busy for trivial things like making sure her passport, the singularly most important item to pack for an international vacation, was in order.

l

I was a little sad as well. I'd gotten this personalized passport holder for her Christmas gift 2 years earlier to use on the trip that we were all supposed to go on.

I get that you're sad, but better to have the passport cover chewed than the passport itself.
Then again, that looks like leather... which might have been the reason the dog chewed it in the first place.

for the first time in forever our flights weren’t stupid early, although I was up at 4:00 or so. No idea why. <abject sarcasm inserted here>

There ya go. Right there. Your Disney reference. Voila. Banishment from the DISboards averted.

Yes, I had to wear it on every plane, train, boat, and bus. Perhaps it made me easier to spot in a crowd.

Perhaps it made you stylish.

Perhaps it was to become just a pain in the culo. (Hint, that’s Italian.)

Yes. That's a rabid St. Bernard.

Wait... that's Cujo. Nevermind.

This is where I got my first real glimpse of how much Mom would struggle on this trip.

Struggle how? Too many bags?

A full hour before boarding our 777 Dreamliner (YES! Finally got meself on one of those behemoths, woot!)

Point of order. If that's the plane you took, that's a 747. Also, the Dreamliner is a 787.

I'm always open to discussion of hot topics. Which side of the Boarding Coin do you fall?

Early on.
I do understand not fighting to get to the front and relaxing up to the last minute... and I have done that.
But when I'm in the (as you put it) cattle car section, it's more important to me to get that overhead bin space. I despise having bags at my feet. I wanna stretch out.

Moving on. And up. This time to Frankfurt. You might be asking what the flight was like...

I have no idea. I slept for almost the entire 7 ½ hour cross-pond trek.

Woot!

(For those who’ve read my TRs before and are now wondering, yes, that was the only time I went. Shocking, I know.)

I paid Economy fare, but got a 2-seat row in the bulkhead, Baby!!

Score! Best (economy) seat in the house.

“I couldn’t find anything from this galley, so I went to First-class and grabbed this one for you.” “Why thank you, thank you very much for this $300 snack.”

Whoa. Nice score. Looks tasty too.

There were a LOT of very angry people actually yelling and getting very testy with agents.

Yeah... 'cause that's gonna help speed things along.

Why on Earth should someone simply connecting from one flight to another who never leaves the sterile zone (ie, cannot, or does not, leave the area on the other side of security) have to go through this process?!

Because you can leave the sterile zone. Like most (perhaps all?) places, there is zero security for leaving. Think of Disney where you have to do bag check and finger scan when entering the park, but nothing at all when leaving. So while you will proceed from one plane to another, there is no mechanism in place to prevent you from exiting the airport after you debark.

This can be controlled and ensured.

It could. It would involve a staggering amount of infrastructure, but it can.

If it helps any, I can assure you that the process for entering the US is no better on a connecting flight.

Funny how 2 ½ years ago if someone saw you shoving a Q-tip into your sinus cavity in an airport, they’d think you insane. Now it’s like, “Awww, bless their heart.”.

(With 5 kids, this gave me tons of throwback memories.)

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’m here and love reading your travel day experiences!
I also believe the $80 I paid for TSA precheck is the BEST money I have ever spent!
Looking forward to hearing all about your month long voyage!

 

[Steppesister]

Hello Steppesister! It’s been a while. I’ve been away from the boards a while. Now I am back. I love that you are a PACU nurse. When I left L&D, I was an L and D nurse and was crossed trained to OBOR and OB PACU. Went to home health for a time. Loved the patients hated the paperwork.
Now I have time for the boards again. The first strip report I start is on of your!! Can’t wait to visit Italy vicariously through you!! Keep writing and I’ll keep reading!

How wonderful to see you again! It HAS been a long time to be sure! But I'm glad you're here now. I myself disappear from time to time

I have heard that about Home Health... being fraught with paperwork. I just don't think I could deal with that day in and day out. I'll take patient primary care.

Next stop, Italy!

 

[vamassey1]

So happy you're able to start your report. I know we're going to get lots of entertaining stories and details.

Danielle is always the last one packed and it stresses everyone else out. I can't count the number of times I've stayed up way too late to help her finish packing the night before we leave.

Enjoyed your travel day and all in all not too bad. Looking forward to more.

 

[Steppesister]

And as with your Trip Reports, of course we'll be more than happy to be patient.

Aww, thanks!

Hoooo boy. Nice way to stop the ol' ticker just before a trip.

It was NOT amusing!

I get that you're sad, but better to have the passport cover chewed than the passport itself.
Then again, that looks like leather... which might have been the reason the dog chewed it in the first place.

Yes, I'm sure that was it exactly. Tasty treats for curious, bored pups.

Yes. That's a rabid St. Bernard.

Wait... that's Cujo. Nevermind.

LOL!

Struggle how? Too many bags?

No, her joints aren't the best, and her body is just slowing down. She can't walk far anymore and, well, yes, you'll see.... the bags were a LOT for her especially in Venice and train stations.

Point of order. If that's the plane you took, that's a 747. Also, the Dreamliner is a 787.

I stand corrected Mr. All-Things-Air-Stuff. I totally see that now and went back to look that I did indeed take a 777 on the way home. And yes, I was confused and it's a long story, but let's just say, I do wonder if Jeopardy was wrong on a clue a couple months ago. I'll go back and fix it now.

Early on.
I do understand not fighting to get to the front and relaxing up to the last minute... and I have done that.
But when I'm in the (as you put it) cattle car section, it's more important to me to get that overhead bin space. I despise having bags at my feet. I wanna stretch out.

I get that too. I'm teeny tiny and don't need that much space. Gets me off the plane faster too.

Score! Best (economy) seat in the house.

YES!

Whoa. Nice score. Looks tasty too.

It actually was! I was very impressed.

Yeah... 'cause that's gonna help speed things along.

It might clue them in that there might be a need to improve their processes.

If it helps any, I can assure you that the process for entering the US is no better on a connecting flight.

Of that I have no doubt.

 

[Steppesister]

I’m here and love reading your travel day experiences!
I also believe the $80 I paid for TSA precheck is the BEST money I have ever spent!
Looking forward to hearing all about your month long voyage!

Thanks for being here, Caroline.

I'm glad it's good for 5 years and sure plan to get my best use out of it.

More coming up soon-ish...

 

[Steppesister]

So happy you're able to start your report. I know we're going to get lots of entertaining stories and details.

We sure had so many wonderful moments that I'm looking forward to sharing!

Danielle is always the last one packed and it stresses everyone else out. I can't count the number of times I've stayed up way too late to help her finish packing the night before we leave.

These kids!!! LOL!!

Enjoyed your travel day and all in all not too bad. Looking forward to more.

Aside from Mikki's Canadian debacle, it really wasn't too bad!

 

[pkondz]

Yes, I'm sure that was it exactly. Tasty treats for curious, bored pups.

And lesson learned for pups' owners!

No, her joints aren't the best, and her body is just slowing down. She can't walk far anymore and, well, yes, you'll see.... the bags were a LOT for her especially in Venice and train stations.

Oh. Sorry to hear that about your mom.

I stand corrected Mr. All-Things-Air-Stuff.

Sorry. I'll try to rein it in a bit.

 

[Steppesister]

And lesson learned for pups' owners!

Oh. Sorry to hear that about your mom.


Sorry. I'll try to rein it in a bit.

Nah, just teasing you. You know, obviously, FAR more than I do and I get confused easily these days. Admittedly, I wrote that chapter in a bit of a hurried rush to get something up, so mixing stuff up is not only possibly, but probable.

 

[pkondz]

Nah, just teasing you. You know, obviously, FAR more than I do and I get confused easily these days. Admittedly, I wrote that chapter in a bit of a hurried rush to get something up, so mixing stuff up is not only possibly, but probable.

You do have your hands full.
But I'll try not to let my airplane freak flag fly so much!

 

[Steppesister]

B is for: Boats, Bridges, and BED! (Venice, Day 1)​

“So, you can either risk getting seasick or walk a bit further.”


In the end, I think we made the right choice in how we got from Marco Polo Airport onto the island of Old City Venice. There are several options: A water bus across the lagoon which would drop us off very close to our Airbnb, a bus which was MUCH cheaper, but involved a fairly long walk to the station, and an even longer walk to the Airbnb on the other side, or a train, which we weren’t ready to tackle quite yet. The problem was that Mom is very prone to seasickness and we were worried about her having issues with that. In the end, she chose the water bus which was about $15 per person. Honestly, not bad.

Praising the Powers that Be that all of our luggage made it, we quickly found the Alilaguna ticket kiosk and got our tickets. The agent was very nice and polite and with 4 tickets for the Orange Line, off we trotted, shlepping our bags. Alright, we weren’t trotting. We were pretty much dragging. But we did make it.

If you’ve ever walked from the IG to The Boardwalk, you know how far it was to get to the water bus stop. It’s not as pretty and felt like we may as well have been walking to San Diego.

Naturally, we just missed one, so stood there for the next 40 minutes. But once it arrived, we were quickly settled into the belly of our watercraft and on our way. It was no Friendship. But it seemed watertight, and the seas weren’t rough. I’m happy to report that no seasickness ensued.

​

35 minutes later, we made the precarious disembarkation at the Guglie stop. It was late afternoon by then and the fatigue was thick. To say we were too tired and bordering on cranky to deal with the frustration of finding our Airbnb would be an understatement. If you’ve ever been to Venice, you understand that getting lost is the rule. There literally is no possibility of NOT getting lost or making at least several wrong turns when going anywhere. This was our baptism into the blackhole-of-Venice phenomenon and with too little sleep, the hangries, and sore bodies it wasn’t going well. Things got a little testy.

Eventually, we made it to our digs for the night, but the check-in process didn’t go very smoothly. The Jewish neighborhood of the Cannaregio District just doesn’t have much cell signal and my messages to the host letting us know we’d arrived weren’t going through to her. UGH!! I think it took almost half an hour to reach her and we finally got into the apartment.

It was cozy and adequate. In fact, it was really spacious and quite well decorated. The bidet is a lovely feature that Americans simply, for some unanswerable reason, refuse to embrace.

Not a fantastic view, but for the price, we sacrificed:



​

We dumped our stuff and claimed our spots and then sat down to take care of the important business of the proctored Covid tests. I had done mine in the airport, but the other 3 still had to do it. After some (more) frustrating technical difficulties Mom and Dad (with a LOT of help from Mikki) finally got connected to the proctor and were done in 15 minutes.


We were all starved, so feeling a little negative in more ways than one.


Ahem…


Time for cicchetti!!


If you’re new to Venetian stuff and things, Cicchetti (pronouced chi-ket'-tee) is basically happy hour on the canals. On the canals, over the canals, sometimes IN the canals. It’s what you do from 4-7PM. Clearly Mom was absolutely done with walking for the day after the extremely difficult trek over bridges and stone streets with heavy bags, so we basically found one of the nearest Osterias we could. There were several right near the Airbnb, but I was insistent that we find one on a canal for a bit more of a picturesque happy hour view which is never very far away in Venice.

Now, another lesson we quickly learned about Venice and well,… basically everywhere in Europe was that if you want or need to eat a real meal before 7:30 or 8:00, you will starve. Period. The End. As we sat down to order and nibble (that’s what we’ll call this), the server literally laughed at us when we asked to see the menu. Basically, it was like, “Are you serious?! No one eats a big meal at 4:00!”

“Oh, okay, can we get ANY food right now? We’re really hungry!”.

“Oh sure, but all we have is cicchetti.”

“Wonderful! Bring a lot.”

We toasted our trip, finished our delicious hors d’oeuvres and drinks and sent Mom and Dad back home to bed. Mikki and I were ready to explore though. I mean how many occasions in one’s lifetime will we be in Venice? This was my second, but I squandered the first in high school and this was my do-over. Best do it right.

​

We followed the rules of Venice and got lost while enjoying the unique and beautiful setting. We vaporetto’d (water taxi) around here and there and when it was finally dark and we were just too worn out to venture any further, we headed back towards our neighborhood.

But first enjoy the photo gallery from our first little walkabout:

(And thus began an obsession with all things doors and windows...)
















(A better view of the Rialto Bridge)










​

Just around the corner from our apartment, we found a trattoria that was seating people and too tired to hunt anymore, we sat down and ordered Aperol spritzes. I’m pretty sure this is the official drink of Italy. From 4:00 on, at any given café, there will be a sea of laughing, chatting people surrounded by neon orange cocktails in stemmed glasses with warm Mediterranean breezes carrying the melodies of hand-rung church bells through the squares.

​

We were both quite hungry still and decided we’d liked the cicchetti from earlier enough to order another round. We got mixed results. You be the judge:

​

Instead of crostini topped with a variety of super yum-yum goodies, we were served heaps of cream of wheat with super yum-yum goodies.


Like… what?!


One was the VERY traditional creamed cod, ubiquitous around Venice, another a pile of sauteed onions with pine nuts, and the last some eggplant ragu. The cod was average and comparable to the one we’d gotten earlier, and the veggie ones were surprisingly wonderful. But… just… really? Cream of wheat? We scrolled past that with the same disinterest as we would a FB post about Sephora’s latest lipstick.

Now… onto the entrée. Again, mixed bag.

Here is the menu so you can peruse along with us:

​

Perhaps you’ve heard of squid or cuttlefish in its own ink. Apparently, that’s what’s done in Venice. We wanted to do what’s done in Venice. So, we did. But you learn quickly while dining internationally that what you might be picturing, what you might be expecting, what might have even been described on the menu in detail is often not what you end up with. Case in point…

We ordered the Tagliatelle with Cuttlefish in its own ink. This is tagliatelle:

​

This is what we got.

(Wait, what the AF?! More cream of wh(e)at?! And NO pasta?!?!)
​

My Tagliatelle-o-Meter is registering a ZERO...


It looked like a plate of something terrible that happened after a long night of drinking. But I am not one to let a $20 meal go to waste no matter how disgusting it looks. And the travel manta calls strong: “Embrace Adventure”. We gave each other a look of resignation and rolled up the proverbial sleeves and each took a tentative bite.


“Hey, this is actually pretty good!”

It’d been a lot better with some pasta, of course, but it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, we both really enjoyed it, but even betwixt us both, did not finish it. I think we were simply too wiped out to give it its due justice and knew we had to be up early to catch our train. We called for the check and made our way back to the apartment for our first night’s “sleep”.

 

[Steppesister]

You do have your hands full.
But I'll try not to let my airplane freak flag fly so much!

We should all fly our flags high. That's how we learn from each other.

 

[rdkeim]

Glad you made it! Travel days to Europe are never fun (for me anyway). Mostly because I can't sleep on the flight. Lovely pictures of Venice! So picturesque. We booked a trip to Italy next Sept. One of our stops is Venice. Really looking forward to reading about your experiences! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hey, I'm finally here! My own DIS time is shorter than it used to be as well.

Dear Reader, the chapters may come in fits and spurts for a while. My days are wholly devoted to writing papers and researching all things nursing management. I try very hard to make time for those I love, eat occasionally, get some sleep, etc… leaving less time than I’d like to tell this story.

Yeah, I understand. I'm sure I'll fall hopelessly behind again at some point.

And, yes, I realize this is the WDW sub-forum.

You're not kidding about the traffic. I'm always studiously putting my TR's in the correct sub-folder, and....yeah, I get far fewer visitors. I'm glad you found me though!

You need to feed that girl.

(BEST bag EVER!!!!, which isn’t made anymore. Sorry ‘bout that.)

Welp.

Okay, let’s talk about the best $80 I’ve spent this year. After a quick trip to Hendersonville, 30 minutes away from home, a few minutes of my time in the office, and $80 later, I had a handy-dandy TSA Pre-check number all to my little ol’ self. “Little ol’ self,” I say to myself, “you done yourself right this time!” I've saved hours of frustrating time with it.

I look forward to doing this myself when I don't have to pay for 5 other people.

I'm always open to discussion of hot topics. Which side of the Boarding Coin do you fall?

The only time I truly care is when I'm flying Southwest, where your boarding position determines whether or not you get stuck in a middle seat. Otherwise, I just want everyone to follow the rules. I'll board when it's my turn, my carry-on will actually fit in the compartment or under my seat, etc.

The short version is if you have a choice of booking airline travel through Canada, do not. She described nothing short of an absolute poop-show in Vancouver. The line at Immigration was hundreds deep. There were a LOT of very angry people actually yelling and getting very testy with agents. She, after FAR more time than should ever be spent on getting on a connecting flight (EVER!), joined many, many others running to catch flights that most would probably miss.

This sounds even worse than the TSA line in Orlando, and that's saying something.

Now some of you know I’m full of opinions. Sorry not sorry. But here’s my take on connecting internationally. Why on Earth should someone simply connecting from one flight to another who never leaves the sterile zone (ie, cannot, or does not, leave the area on the other side of security) have to go through this process?! Ok, technically, sure they are on X’s “soil”, but really? Make them stand in line for an hour? 2 hours? So the agent can look at the passport and say thanks? Why not allow travelers who do not leave to just get to their gate, and if they do decide to go outside for a smoke or who might have enough time to exit and come back, make those folks go through the Immigration entry and re-entry process. This can be controlled and ensured. For goodness sake, the airline itself keeps a detailed record of who's on every flight and can and should just fill in the gap by providing the passenger manifest upon landing. My entire class that I’m wading my way through right now is about Quality Improvement in Healthcare, Value-based Care, and Process Improvement Science. Ummm… maybe there can be some lessons and principles applied here in the travel and immigration sector. Better, more streamlined processes are just a suggestion. Then again, it's a government operation.... what more can I say?

As a veteran of many government operations, I can say that this all sounds suspiciously like one of the classic state government scenarios in which one jerk has ruined a situation for everyone else. We can always make things efficient and easy--don't want to go through security during your layover? No problem!--until that one idiot tries to sneak something dangerous through and ends up ruining it for the masses. I'm just speculating here, but it wouldn't shock me.

“So, you can either risk getting seasick or walk a bit further.”

I've been seasick. I'll walk.

I’m happy to report that no seasickness ensued.

Whew.

If you’ve ever been to Venice, you understand that getting lost is the rule.

I have not, but I will properly abandon all hope now.

Now, another lesson we quickly learned about Venice and well,… basically everywhere in Europe was that if you want or need to eat a real meal before 7:30 or 8:00, you will starve. Period. The End. As we sat down to order and nibble (that’s what we’ll call this), the server literally laughed at us when we asked to see the menu. Basically, it was like, “Are you serious?! No one eats a big meal at 4:00!”

What happened to "the customer is always right"?

I’m pretty sure this is the official drink of Italy.

Not Beverly?

Instead of crostini topped with a variety of super yum-yum goodies, we were served heaps of cream of wheat with super yum-yum goodies.

People always rave about Italian cuisine, and...this is never mentioned.

Perhaps you’ve heard of squid or cuttlefish in its own ink.

No thanks, I'm trying to quit.

This is tagliatelle:

​

Sounds about right.

Nope.

It looked like a plate of something terrible that happened after a long night of drinking.

Or a trip to Taco Bell.

But I am not one to let a $20 meal go to waste no matter how disgusting it looks.

You have a stronger stomach than I do. I would have flushed the $20.

And the travel manta calls strong: “Embrace Adventure”.

And dysentery!

“Hey, this is actually pretty good!”

Didn't see that one coming.

 

[pkondz]

The problem was that Mom is very prone to seasickness and we were worried about her having issues with that. In the end, she chose the water bus which was about $15 per person. Honestly, not bad.

Not bad. But also too bad I didn't get to tell you about another way. Maybe it would've been a bit more (?), but... worth it perhaps? You could've hired a water taxi right from Marco Polo that would've taken you to the nearest stop to your airbnb. I did that (in reverse) when I was there and hurt my back and couldn't walk.

The agent was very nice and polite and with 4 tickets for the Orange Line,

The opposite of my experience getting vaporetto tickets. Agent was not at all helpful.

I’m happy to report that no seasickness ensued.

phew! But... I would've been shocked if there was. I mean you really need to be sensitive to get sick on an almost glass smooth lagoon. (Okay, the occasional wake from passing boats.)

Italian butt shot.

If you’ve ever been to Venice, you understand that getting lost is the rule.

This was our baptism into the blackhole-of-Venice phenomenon and with too little sleep, the hangries, and sore bodies it wasn’t going well. Things got a little testy.

Oh dear. Always a possibility when traveling with family, but... add in those factors... yikes!

I think it took almost half an hour to reach her and we finally got into the apartment.

Glad you at least were finally able to connect.

It was cozy and adequate. In fact, it was really spacious and quite well decorated.

Looks really nice! A lot nicer than the hotel we stayed at.

The bidet is a lovely feature that Americans simply, for some unanswerable reason, refuse to embrace.

Well of course. Wasn't that a presidential decree? Harry S Truman, I believe: "The butt stops here!"

Pretty sure that was it.

Bidet sighted!

Not a fantastic view, but for the price, we sacrificed:

I think that's a pretty common Venetian view actually.

We dumped our stuff and claimed our spots and then sat down to take care of the important business of the proctored Covid tests. I had done mine in the airport, but the other 3 still had to do it. After some (more) frustrating technical difficulties Mom and Dad (with a LOT of help from Mikki) finally got connected to the proctor and were done in 15 minutes.

So glad when that's all done.

If you’re new to Venetian stuff and things, Cicchetti (pronouced chi-ket'-tee) is basically happy hour on the canals.

Love spaghetti.

No?

I was insistent that we find one on a canal for a bit more of a picturesque happy hour view which is never very far away in Venice.

Good choice. I support this.

basically everywhere in Europe was that if you want or need to eat a real meal before 7:30 or 8:00, you will starve. Period. The End.

Really? Huh. I don't think we ever had that problem. Then again, we weren't trying to eat at...

Basically, it was like, “Are you serious?! No one eats a big meal at 4:00!”

...four o'clock.

I mean how many occasions in one’s lifetime will we be in Venice?

Make hay while the sun shines. I'd love to go back and finish up some unfinished touring.

There's a hand missing from this picture.

Wow!

(And thus began an obsession with all things doors and windows...)

(cue ominous music.)

Really pretty shot.

Whoa. This, I think, is my favourite shot.

Postcard worthy!

Pretty shots of Mikki. Where are you???

at any given café, there will be a sea of laughing, chatting people surrounded by neon orange cocktails in stemmed glasses with warm Mediterranean breezes carrying the melodies of hand-rung church bells through the squares.

Nicely said. <applause>

We were both quite hungry still and decided we’d liked the cicchetti from earlier enough to order another round. We got mixed results. You be the judge:

Um... yeah, that doesn't look even close to as nice as your first go-round.

Perhaps you’ve heard of squid or cuttlefish in its own ink

Looks as dark as the chef's (obviously) black heart.

(Wait, what the AF?! More cream of wh(e)at?!)

But I am not one to let a $20 meal go to waste

Seems like a lot of $$ for that small plate.

“Hey, this is actually pretty good!”

Phew and... surprising!

We called for the check and made our way back to the apartment for our first night’s “sleep”.

Uh, oh... you have "sleep" in quotes...

 

[vamassey1]

Wow, your photos of Venice are just beautiful!!

The story of travel is frustrating. I'm glad you finally found some food. I was hungry for you.

 

[irene_dsc]

I haven't been on the Dis much lately, but just happened to see this! So glad you finally got to go to Italy (and Greece) after all this time! Your itinerary reminds me a bit of my own Italy and Greece travels. During my junior year abroad in Versailles, we had multiple breaks for travel and sketching, including a month in Italy and Greece. Iirc, our route was Paris-Vienna-Venice-Florence-Naples-Rome-some port city-Athens-Mykonos-Santorini-Crete-Athens-Rome-Paris. So, not quite the same as yours, but a lot of overlap!

 

[Steppesister]

Glad you made it! Travel days to Europe are never fun (for me anyway). Mostly because I can't sleep on the flight. Lovely pictures of Venice! So picturesque. We booked a trip to Italy next Sept. One of our stops is Venice. Really looking forward to reading about your experiences! Thanks for sharing.

It's getting so much harder to sleep on planes. I used to be able to every single time no matter what seat I was in, but age makes it tough. So yeah, I get it, I usually arrive exhausted and need a few days to recover.

Thanks!! I have sooooo many pictures and the better ones of Venice are AFTER the cruise and the very last day of our trip. So stay tuned... I hope to keep making progress on this TR. After I'm done with this current class in a couple of days I'll try to get another chapter up.