And finally, Venice.

First of all, I’ve never been to Venice. I really had no idea what to expect.

All I can say from my first day here… Wow! It really is something.

There are no cars here. No scooters. No bicycles. The only thing I have seen with wheels… baby strollers. They have a tough time making it too.

We got to our train station and took a water taxi to our hotel. I could only think to belt out “That’s Amore.” (Maybe a gondolier is my next career?)

Venice is a series of islands joined by bridges. Lots of bridges. 120 islands. 177 canals. 400 bridges.

As we walked last night, the tide came up through the drains. It didn’t wash over, it came up and through the manholes. Most avoided it. Some ran into it. Ankle deep.

That thing about Venice sinking is apparently not true. Our guide says Venice isn’t sinking… the water is just getting higher. I guess that’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.

At any rate, they are doing what they can. Building dams to hold back the water.

Churches, history, everywhere. It’s a little like my hometown of Paris, Texas. A church on every corner. Here, they are historic. Very, very historic.

About being a gondolier. Not happening. That’s a hard job. Ours has been doing it forty years. His dad did it. He’s passing it on to his son.

Gondoliers have to duck under bridges. I think you only make that mistake once.

Venice is a unique and wonderful place. Probably not an easy place to live. We saw the busses that get workers back to the mainland. The busses are boats.

A few more days here. More art to see. More churches. More pasta. More pizza. I swear that gondola listed when I stepped on.