My Travel Blog
I'm writing this wearing jeans for the first time in weeks so that tells you something about the change in weather we just experienced! We went from about 35C to 18C with a 1.5 hour plane ride, and I actually think all four of us are feeling a bit relieved. The heat was nice but it's feels great to not be constantly coated in a sheen of sweat!
We went down for our included breakfast again this morning, and unlike yesterday, there was a lot of food! What a pleasant surprise - and although the coffee was still pretty bad we had our choice of various types of croissants along with many other things I didn't even see yesterday because of the hordes of people. Granted, I didn't really want to eat most of it (undercooked bacon, gummy scrambled eggs, hot dogs disguised as sausages, etc) but at least there was variety! I stuck to what they do best which is juice and baked goods and threw in a canned peach for good measure.
We were packed up quickly and headed for the airport earlier than we needed to simply because there was nothing else for us to do at the hotel. The Venice airport was surprisingly nice, especially when compared to the Florence airport which was tiny and dingy. Venice had really nice floor to ceiling windows with lots of light and some really nice stores. Some were 'too' nice (think Prada and Bulgari) but there was a lot to see and do and we had some delicious panini for lunch. We were impressed by the crew on our KLM flight - they were extremely friendly and their cookies were delightful! I sat next to an American couple who have lived in Naples for the past 11 years - he's with NATO and they were going to Holland for their holidays to escape the heat. Sort of the opposite of any summer holiday I've ever taken!
We landed at Schipol and collectively felt comfortable - it's our European home away from home and we're always happy be here. Our friend Bart met us at the airport and drove us to Jeff's aunt and uncle's house where we'll be staying for the next 3 nights. They are in Italy (and we saw them two days ago!) and they were nice enough to lend us their home while we're here. Jeff actually lived here in this house for the year after high school and we've visited many times so we feel right at home. The first thing the kids did was grab some bread and run out to the canal to feed the ducks - they've been thinking about doing that all year! We visited with Bart for awhile then he went home to his family and we took a walk to the grocery store to get some provisions. Aside from the Dutch breakfast staples we stopped at a snack bar and picked up a very unhealthy dinner. It was sort of the antithesis of the meal we had last night; instead of fresh, natural ingredients prepared with care it was a bunch of frozen things thrown in a deep fryer. But, it was pretty darn good I'll admit. We had frikandel, krokets, fries with peanut sauce and chicken satay. Stuff that is fantastic at 2 am after way too many Heineken, our only downfall was that we ate it at 6 pm stone sober. Still yummy though, just a bit greasy.
We're taking it easy tonight; Venice was very hot and we got up pretty early both days so we're looking forward to a very quiet and calm evening. Tomorrow our friend Jennie comes in for two nights which we're looking forward to, and we're also having a get together in the evening at the house of one of Jeff's aunts. The kids just came back from feeding the ducks a second time and the ducks were getting very bold and kind of chasing them! This led to some great excitement and a bit of high pitched screeching. (I don't remember if the sound came from them or from me…) Quite a change from what we were experiencing a mere 24 hours ago… but a very welcome change.
Tot ziens!
Wow, our last day in Italy is over. No more gelato every day, or those excellent thin crust pizzas… sigh. Of course I can get those things at home but not as easily and certainly not for the same price. Tomorrow we fly to Amsterdam where we will spend 3 nights visiting with family and squeezing in a last few vacation days before heading back to real life. I think we will all be happy to get out of the heat; it's nice for awhile but we really aren't built for it for extended periods of time. The weather in Holland will be similar to Calgary and a nice transition before heading home.
We got up this morning and went downstairs for our included 'breakfast buffet'. We actually had to set the alarm to get up for it because it was only on until 9:30 am - unusually early in my opinion to end a breakfast. We weren't alone in waiting until the last minute to head down because there were a lot of people and not enough food. Whenever they brought out a new tray of croissants a horde of people descended on it - we had to use the kids as little mice to get in there and grab some for us! They were excellent croissants and hot out of the oven, but there were definitely not enough for the number of people there. The yogurt was really good though and they had some nice fresh juices. There was a single coffee maker (that makes individual cups) that was working really hard, and they definitely could've used a few more of those as there was a constant line-up for it. It surprised me because this is a country that takes a lot of pride in it's coffee, and that was the worst stuff I've tasted in the last 2.5 weeks. So, we weren't really excited that we got up to eat that breakfast, but it was funny to see the social dynamics of so many different cultures vying for too-little food. One lady was actually yelling at the hostess about the lack of croissants - like there was anything she could do about it! Plus it wouldn't have been easy to find anything else as we're located quite off the beaten path and the only thing around here is a gas station, which perhaps explains the croissant desperation.
Instead of heading into the main part of Venice after breakfast we decided to stay close by and do a little shopping. Last night we inadvertently found a great area with lots of shops and restaurants so we hopped on the bus and off we went. We first came across a fish market which was both gross and fascinating - Julia took particular interest in it so we spent awhile looking at (and smelling) all the different varieties of seafood for sale. After the smell and heat got to us we went into the large shopping center with it's welcoming air conditioning. The kids got a few clothes for school and I bought a shirt, while Jeff nicely indulged all the female shopping energy. A quick lunch in a nice pizzeria and it was time for the pool. We spent about 2 hours at the pool and Jeff and I tried Campari and soda for the first time; considering that it was the last day and we've seen people drinking them for weeks it was now or never. Weird - we can't tell if we liked it or hated it. It looks so pretty (and kinda girly) but it is very bitter. I feel it's a 'been there done that' sort of thing so I never need to have one again. I liked getting the little free bowl of potato chips with it - that was a nice touch.
We had a rinse and a rest after the pool then got back on the bus and went into Venice. The girls really wanted to take a boat of some sort and it didn't matter what kind. You can 
take a water bus, a water taxi, or a gondola - and that is the ascending order in price. The water buses were jam packed and looked horrible, and every family we saw in a gondola had very bored looking kids. So, water taxi it was! It was very cool and we called it our own private water limousine as it was really big and we were the only passengers. I felt like we were in a movie because the sun was low, the scenery was gorgeous and the whole thing felt surreal. We took it to San Marco Square then wandered the streets until we found the most perfect restaurant. What a fabulous way to end our stay in Italy - the food was amazing! Everything was delicious, the waiters were so nice, the kids were so calm and self-occupied… it was perfect. Then the gelato hunt ensued with gusto as it would be our last one of the trip. We became thoroughly lost (which is sort of inevitable in Venice) and somehow ended up back in San Marco Square even though we were sure that we were heading in the opposite direction. The little streets in Venice are crazy and a map is just a basic guide - but with gelato in hand everything is easier. We were all pretty tired and decided to take a water taxi back instead of walking, and then got wild and took a real taxi to the hotel instead of the bus. Last night's bus ride was so hot and crowded and the fast, cool taxi ride tonight was much appreciated.
As I write this I have a cold glass of white wine beside me and very tired feet below me. What a great few weeks here in Italy… grazie mille!
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