And today, I'm determined to add some more! Murano gorgeous glass, check. Venetian gorgeous mask, tba (to be acquired) first, lunch. For an eating country, they have some odd rules, and it's best you're aware of them, or you'll be caught in the "no food for you" zone, roughly 3-7 as I can figure it. Granted if you've already sat, and you're still eating course number 1,500 it's all good, just don't expect to be able to sit yourself down and get anything beyond a pastry come 3, and no they really don't care if you were on a flight and unfed. Apparently, the FAA needs to abide by the schedule of the server. Knowing this, and having a grump ass pain our first day in Venice, (I asked for bread dude, BREAD, a damn inmate gets that! Ass) anywho, as we slept in after our adventures in traindom today, we decided eating prior to heading to venice and potentially being caught in no foods for you vill, was a muy bueno idea. Drat, too friggin bad this was the first day we did this!! Restaurant was YUM yumyum. Brought out crispy crunchy warm bread, a soft yogurty white cheese, and salami...and that was just the "on the house" starter! We had a bottle of proseco (as did every table that came in after us, don't judge, as they say: when in Rome!! So I say, I'm being polite thank you very much, and doing as the Italians do!) mom had a fungi spaghetti, and I had (off menu!) cabonara, after he checked to see if he had any ham delivered. Oh em frigging gee!!! It was so fresh, the spagetti had a golden yellow hue,creamy and chunks of ham with a touch of crunch.
Excuse the pause, I needed a moment to relive the glory of the yumminess. Frick. Bummer we're leaving today. But so so happy to have found you!!! Grab our bags and get into Venice. All the large train stations have a bag check. Smaller ones have lockers....ain't no way our stuff would fit in a locker, but just as an FYI for those who may be Italy bound! Bags safely off my shoulders (yay!) and we're off to buy masks. A word of caution....the cheap street kiosks, are likely mass produced in the same stupid place america exploits (cough China) do yourself, Italy, and child labour a favor, buy elsewhere. Now I'm not saying you must spend a fortune..and believe me, you surely can! However, it's very easy to find a shop where the masks are being painted while you're looking...and they were GORGEOUS!!! On a handle, or not. Made with: feathers, some from wire so delicate it looks like lace. Glitter, crystals, painted paper mache. Each one a piece of wearable art. We wound up with two boxes worth...and were still oogoling after our limoncello break by the canal. The shop keeper was teasing us, saying come back, come in, he had bigger boxes to fill for us. So, now with 2 boxes to add to the ever growing collection of pretty things, we head back to the station, and off to Florence! This time we have assigned seats, air-conditioning and: a bathroom. Florence= mumsie (the art major) dream city. The seat of the birth of the renaissance.
" Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority." -- Tom Hopkins
"Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves." -- Walter Anderson
"Adventure can be an end in itself. Self-discovery is the secret ingredient that fuels daring." -Grace Lichtenstein
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~ Andre Gide
