On the 7th day, we rested. ;) I took a walk with Randy to buy some bottled waters and have breakfast. We liked the paninis this one little place made. The bread was flaky and tasty. We tried an “American Breakfast” in one place, but it wasn’t so great. What they considered bacon wasn’t, and the eggs were a bit dry. Also, they didn’t start serving American Breakfast until 9 or 9:30 — I guess they figure we’re lazy!
I walked with Cori to St. Peter’s Basilica one last time. We mailed my postcards at the official Vatican Post Office. On the way back, Cori filled her water bottle at one of the many fountains. Our guide told us (and Cori already knew) that Rome is considered the “City of Water.” They are proud of their clean, safe water.
Click on pictures to see full photo, title, and description. For the 100s of photos we took, see my smugmug: https://moonfamily.smugmug.com/Travel/Italy-2026
On the 8th day, we took the train to Venice! It was a nice, clean, fast train. 155 mi/hr and that was not even the express one, which you pay extra for to go even faster. Randy took some shots out the window, but it was hard to be quick enough to catch anything.
Once we got here, Cori got us tickets for a water taxi to the hotel. I liked the old-fashioned hotel we checked into - little wooden slots for our key and everything. Even the receptionist looked kind of old-fashioned.
Our walk to the hotel was kind of insane. It’s a warren of narrow alleyways. Thank goodness for Cori+Google. She holds her phone and slowly twirls to orient herself to the arrow that points her in the right direction. Randy and I each packed a huge suitcase, and Cori’s is a little smaller but just as heavy. I think they’re over 50 lbs. each. Randy pushed both the big ones (they roll). The cobblestone and other surfaces are quite bumpy, plus add to that maneuvering through the crowds. And you know those beautiful, arched bridges over the canals? On the topside, that means stairs up, a small level landing, then stairs down. Thank God again for Cori! Our little procedure is:
Cori leads and puts her bags down.
I follow with my small rolling bag and stand guard over our bags…
…while Cori goes back to Randy waiting at the beginning of the bridge, and takes the first of our huge suitcases over the stairs to me.
She leaves that bag with me to watch.
She goes back to Ran, grabs the second bag, and takes it over the steps.
Randy joins us and off we go again.
Cori is so strong! She just hefts the bags by their handles and hustles up and down the stairs. She says it’s because she lifts weights at the gym. I’m sure her nursing work contributes, too.
When we got to the hotel, the receptionist asked if we would prefer a 1st-floor room rather than the one on the 4th floor that was reserved for us. We said yes, definitely, and I thought, “How nice, we won’t have to carry the bags up stairs.” I forgot that the 1st floor is what we would call the 2nd floor. Ground floor is floor zero. Fortunately, the receptionist carried our bags up for us. I asked him if there was a way we could have help getting our bags back to the water taxi. He said there are some people who will porter bags if asked early enough in the day. Hoping we can get that arranged!
After checking in, we walked two doorways down to a nice restaurant. Delicious meal, and then panna cotta and creme brulee for dessert. Creme brulee always makes me think of Dad — he loved it.
A few days ago (November 4) I especially remembered my brother Dan. It was the anniversary of his death. Twenty years ago. I can hardly believe it. I miss him, Mom, and Dad so much. One comfort I have is my dreams. They show up in them every so often. Most of the time I can’t remember the dreams, other than that they were in it. It feels like a visit. I often think of something I read: “Her absence is her presence.” It’s true. When I feel their absence, that is how they now are present to me.
Day 9 is another day of rest, after our travels. Randy and Cori are on a walk right now. I stayed in the hotel to blog and to let my stomach settle. TMI, I know, but my stomach has periodic bouts of what I might delicately call discomfort. I was worried about it for this trip, but since it had to happen, today is a good day for it. I think it is finished now, but I never know for sure.
We plan to be in Venice for just 3 days, and the only sightseeing on the agenda right now is a food tour (I’m not sure what day). We are going to check Rick Steves for what else we might try to go to.