Day 94: Bonus Day

Ok, so Venice had a bad night of it. More GI issues. She's still not eating. Chris and I quickly discuss our options. What is the point of traveling to Scotland, if Venice is going to stay in the hotel room the entire time and we'll worry about her as we guiltily tour around (if that's even possible)? We should just go home early. It seems time for all of us to head home. I will admit that touring around for so long has taken it's toll on me as well. Back in Berlin, we would go for a jaunt for the weekend, but then come back to "home base" for a while. This current jaunt is over a week long and it's pretty tiring living out of a suitcase, packing, unpacking, re-packing. Learning all the new problems of a new place (no conditioner, smaller beds, shared spaces, creaky floors, faulty lights, noise, etc.) So, I think we're all ready to be back in a "home base", and since it's the end of our trip, that will be our home-home.

Chris gets on the phone immediately and fixes our tickets home. We cannot get tickets for today, but we can get onto tomorrow's flight. And thanks to United for NOT charging us a change fee (again, since we've already paid that once to switch to flying out of Scotland instead of Berlin). We will have good seats for the long flight and then somewhat cruddy seating arrangement on the flight to Eugene, but that's only an hour, we can handle that. Done.

Next, Chris heads to the front desk to see if we can extend our stay at this aparthotel one more night. Yay! We have one more night here, no more packing and unpacking. We can remain settled. The only bad part of this, is that we packed up, thinking we'd be in another place. So, now, we have to dig through our bags to find what we need for the next day (and unpack my Dopp kit... side note, I now know why it's called a Dopp kit, had to Google it, you can too!) Somewhat a pain, but worth it.

With our plans in order, we can begin our day in earnest. After breakfast, Venice decides it's best if she stays home and rests. She gives us her support in going out and exploring a bit more. Chris, Xander, and I head out to see a few more sights before leaving, on this, our bonus day.

No taxis today. No Uber cars. We are ready for public transportation. Our first stop, the Tower Bridge.

Tube station (top-left), Xander pointing to our destination on the map inside the train (top-right)
Mind the gap! (bottom-left), No entry (bottom-middle), Xander (bottom-right)

Side story: I'm sure you've heard the "Mind the Gap" quote/joke a lot. We had. However, it's amazing how much you really do hear it and see it throughout a single day. Mind the gap. Mind the gap. Mind the step. Mind the gap. Perhaps, if you live here long enough, it becomes white noise in the background and you no longer hear it. But, being here a short time, it makes us laugh, almost every time we hear it. Mind the gap. And to be clear, the gap is not always equivalent. Sometimes there is no gap. Sometimes it's a step down from the train, or up. And sometimes, a small adult could fit through the gap. You really do need to mind the gap. There are also a lot of places with low ceilings (I guess they were shorter in the Middle Ages?) and doorways that I even duck (poor Chris, still smarting after hitting his head in Austria).

As I've talked a lot about the crowded Tube stations, I have not talked about the labyrinth style in details. It is similar to Berlin's Ubahn stations. But even more labyrinth-y. Berlin's underground system seemed to be large hallways, with trains (of the same line) sharing platforms. Here in London, the "hallways" to each platform, or the way out, seem to be super narrow. The main entrances are large, but once you pick a line, you commit to a small tunnel (2 people side-by-side can walk comfortably, 3, not so much) heading to the platform. Everyone seems to be going the same direction. I think this is because, a lot of the tunnels below are single directional. As long as you follow the signs to your platform or the Way Out, you will be going the correct direction for that tunnel. As you can see in the photo above (bottom-middle), there are places where it says "no entry". This is the "other" direction. And while some seem to be going against the rules, in this photo, most people follow the signs and all traffic flows in one direction. I can't imagine going against traffic. It seems like just asking to get bowled over. Anyway, I wonder what model-representation of this underground labyrinth would look like? A bunch of criss-crossing tubes all over the place. Seems like a fun project for someone to do...

Out of the Tube system, we make our way towards the Tower Bridge, passing the Tower of London on our way. We are also treated to nice views of the Shard. The clouds and peaking-blue skies give a beautiful background to our view of the river Thames (which is quite murky, by the way).

A spinning table for play, with the Tower of London in the background (left)
Tower of London (middle) and the Shard (right)

As we approach the Tower Bridge, I could see the blue colours of the suspension cables. How did I not know it was coloured blue? Guess I haven't looked at many photos of the bridge. On our tour, we find out that these are the "new" colours which were instituted in 1977. The original colour was greenish-blue (according to the Wiki page) but in reality, just looked like brown to us.

We find our way onto the bridge and to the exhibition area and there is no line. I was expecting to have to wait, but we walked right in, got our tickets, and went in the first elevator going up. A wonderful surprise!

There are two walkways connecting the two towers and you are allowed to walk through both of them. Due to the two walkways, you are able to see both directions along the Thames, as well as seeing the other walkway. Today, the flags are flying at half-mast in mourning for Paris.

A westwardly view(top-left), The other walkway (top-right)
Xander making a souvenir penny (bottom-left), original colour (bottom-middle)
Eastwardly view (bottom-right)

Both walkways have a glass bottom in the middle. At first, we're a bit slow to get onto the glass. By the second walkway, Xander's ready to try jumping on it (although he abstains). This is definitely fun for all of us tourists waiting a turn to take some photos.

The tour is a self-guided tour and we are able to go at our own pace. Once you leave the towers and walkways, you can go underneath to see the engine rooms (mostly replicas of the old coal and steam engines). Funny story: At this point, I was ready to sit for a bit. So, Chris and Xander were checking out a certain display in the engine area and I took a seat. It was a chair along the wall, next to another display of some sort. I didn't pay any attention to what it was, I just knew it was a chair, mostly out of the way. I checked my phone to see if Venice had Skyped, needing anything. As I was engrossed with my phone a couple walked up to the display next to my chair. The guy started cranking the hands-on part of the display. Immediately, I shifted in my seat as the chair lurched upwards. Surprised, I giggled and said, "Oh, you're moving my chair!" It took a few seconds for the guy to understand what was happening (English wasn't their first language) but he finally got it and told his female companion what happened. By this time, I had jumped off the chair and was still laughing (slightly embarrassed, as I think he was, too). OMG! I moved on. He re-cranked the lever to see how the chair moved and they continued to explore the exhibit. Too funny.

On the walls of the walkways is a photographic display of bridges from around the world, including architects, spans, building style, and other factoids. Yes, the Golden Gate is one of them. We also saw the Rialto and Ponte Vecchio from Italy. And a few modern ones that look like they're from a sci-fi movie and not the current times. One of the bridges, included, is the Millennium Footbridge, here in London, just a few bridges west of the Tower Bridge (the third bridge over). Xander became enamoured with it and really wanted to see it. This is the kind of touring we love to do. We had plans to see the Tower of London, but we're all a bit "done" with formal tours. Xander saw something he really wanted to see. So we switched up our plans and decided to try for the Millennium Footbridge. But, first we must find lunch.

We dine at a beer and hamburger place nearby. As we're eating, Chris looks up coffee places and finds F*CKOFFEE. Xander and Chris decide this is a MUST for us. It's not too far, and after we eat, we head over to find the coffee place.

Enjoying our beverages and chocolatey-snack at F*CKOFFEE.

On our way back from coffee, we pass by the White Cube, again. It is a free-admissions art gallery. Another perk of this kind of touring is that we can just decide to go on in, and we do. It's a brief view of the local art scene. One of the displays (see photo below), was of some text (greyish-off-white) on a white wall. You had to be close enough to read it, otherwise, the text disappeared. So, I thought it was funny to walk by and see people, appearing to be staring at a white wall. Just like a common joke.

Art in the front courtyard (left), Installments from a Light display

We move on, heading towards the water. We walk onto the London Bridge again, to take a peak back at Tower Bridge (it's not raining today, so it's a really nice view!), Then back to sit along the waterfront by the Southwark Bridge.

End of the London Bridge (left), Southwark Cathedral (middle), a colourful underpass (right)

Stopping for me to take a bathroom break (left), the Southwark Bridge (middle), stopping for a rest (right)

Finally, we make it to the Millennium Footbridge. It's fun to get a view back towards the Tower Bridge. So far, this area, around all the bridges, feels less crowded. I don't know if it's the time of the week, or if it's because it's not raining, so people aren't all huddled in the same areas, but it just feels less crowded today. In addition to our slow pace, this uncongested feeling creates a peaceful day of touring. I am sorry Venice's illness had to be so bad. We miss her.

Looking back, you can see the Tower Bridge (super tiny in the photos)
Xander took some great photos of us. He noticed we covered the church in the background
and had us move and then moved himself so as to create the perspective he wanted. 

As we walked across the Millennium Footbridge, we could see St. Paul's Church, which created a beautiful view and destination. As we approached the church, we could see that something big had occurred here earlier. People were cleaning up temporary stands that looked to hold hundreds of people in the streets.

St. Paul's Church.
Curly-twisted bushes (bottom-middle, photo by Xander)

We take the Tube home. Check on Venice. Rest a bit. Venice is still not up for eating, so when we head back out for dinner, she opts to stay in. We'll bring her some food back from the Shake Shack.

One of Xander's last Bingo items is to ride a London double decker bus (we rode one in Berlin, but it doesn't feel the same as one of the iconic red buses in London). We have confirmed with my high school friend, that our Oyster Cards are good for buses too (this is what we thought until we bought them and the wording on the tickets confused us). We cross our fingers that they'll work on the bus. We are prepared to pay cash if we need to, so we're not too worried about failure (and remember, they speak English here, that's very helpful!)

We walk down the street to the nearest bus stop. Guess what? We missed our bus, because we were waiting on the wrong side of the street! Dang "right side driving". Silly Americans. We cross the street to be on the correct side of traffic. Here's where we make our second tourist mistake. A different bus comes, and we can take this one as well, only it doesn't stop! It drives right by us, because we were sitting down as it approached. We watch other people, and they stand near the curb and wave it down (really, just hold their open hand out at at 45 degree angle from the ground). Ok. We are on the correct side of traffic AND we know to stand up in advance and wave down the bus. Got it. Now to just wait another 10 minutes for the next bus.

Success! We got on the bus! We waved it down and it stopped. Our Oyster Cards turned the scanner green. AND, bonus, the second row of seats on the top level were open. Xander got to, basically, sit in the best seat (the woman in the front row offered to switch out seats so he could have the front, but the second row was good enough... how nice of her to offer).

Top deck of a double decker (left), Temporary Ice Skating rink (right)

We're back to Covent garden. Chris and I were here the night we went out alone, but tonight, the lights are lit, the decorations for the holidays are more complete. The weather is warm enough to eat outside (the area is covered, but it's not "inside").

Covent Garden (top-left), Xander and Chris almost got hit by a low flying bird (top-right)
The wonderful musicians (bottom-left), Disco ball making sparkly lights (bottom-right)

Part way through our dinner, we were treated to a wonderful concert. A performing quintet set up to play on the lower level. The spinning-twinkling lights and the quality music made for a magical atmosphere. Funny story: Xander went to go check it out first and came back reporting it was a group of boys and girls. We asked what he meant by "boys" and he responded that they were young. Chris and I had images of teenagers in our minds and were super impressed by the level of playing they were displaying. But when I went to get a look, I came back with a group of 30 year olds. Funny how different perception is!

The group was very good at performing. They danced. They shouted. They had humour. They entertained. There was a 6th member of this group, his job was to go around the audience (top and bottom levels) asking for donations and to sell their CD. Yes, I did buy one. I enjoyed their performance so much and thought their music was really well done. I'm a sucker for a good entertainers!

I ordered one more burger to take home to Venice while Chris raced to the bathroom with Xander, who was in a big hurry. We headed back to the bus stop (once again, we went to wait on the wrong side, doh!) Our Oyster Cards blinked green (phew) and we get second row seats up top, again!

Venice has been snoozing during the time we've been gone. She's asleep when we get home, but wakes up to try a bit of food. After two bites, she's back to bed.  Poor thing.

Good-night, London. We hope to see you again to do all the things we missed due to time running out (Buckingham Palace, Regent's Park, Harry Potter Tours, British Museum, National History Museum...)

Day 44: Schloss Mirabell

After visiting the Fortress, the kids did a few rides, as promised. First up, the Round-Up. Chris opted to remain on sturdy ground. The kids convinced me to join them, so up and around we went. Mostly the same as the American version. Biggest difference is that kids were flipping themselves upside-down and no one was getting in trouble for it. And either there are no chains to "lock you in" or they just don't use them. I never understood them anyway, as centrifugal forces will keep you in your seat. The "belts" are just for show. Anyway, looser rules.

The Round-Up

Next, the kids wanted to do the swing ride, similar to the one they did at Oktoberfest (only this one goes counter clock-wise, weird). We got in the long line to buy tickets. But most of the people in line were adults buying for their kids only, so the line went faster than I would have thought. And, there is organised chaos at this ride. The ticket master only sells enough tokens for one ride, waits for that ride to start, then begins selling another "pre-counted" set of tokens for the next ride. For this ride, it's important, because there is no line to get onto the ride. Once you have a token, you wait around the ride, and when the swings slow down, you rush to claim one. It's a bit "everyone for himself" but it seems to work ok. We just have to prep our kids to be assertive if they want to sit together.

After the swings, Venice asked to go on the ferris wheel. This ferris wheel is SUPER tiny (8 family cabins?) and doesn't go very high. Different than the really big one we went on at Oktoberfest and definitely smaller than the London Eye, which we hope to ride when we visit there in the future. Chris was willing to leave solid ground for this one so that we could ride as a family.

Ferris Wheel (top)
Swings and the rush to get a seat (bottom)

Again, rides are pretty expensive. About €10 per ride (for the 3-4 of us), so that adds up quickly. So, we only do the few rides and are ready to head back to the hotel to rest.

In addition to resting, we try to research what to do next. The internet connection here stinks. It drops you periodically and disappears. And when you can get it, it's weak and mind-boggling slow. So, research is tedious and frustrating.

While I still don't want to take a bus for "The Sound of Music" tour, I do feel that if we came all the way here and I didn't see a single "Sound of Music" site, I'd regret it. Seeing the outside of the theatre wasn't enough. So, I searched for sites and came up with the Mirabell Gardens at Schloss Mirabell. This is where they filmed much of the "Do-Re-Mi" song. Perfect.

On the way, after a snack of street pretzels, we crossed the Salzach River using a Love Locks bridge. From afar, you couldn't see the locks, but it became clear as you got closer. Fun to see all the locks and imagine who put them there.

Schloss Mirabell was just a few blocks beyond the bridge. The gardens were very crowded. Not so much that you couldn't walk around in peace, but enough that if you wanted a photo without anyone else in it, you had to either be very creative (we achieved this in some of our photos) or patient for people to pass (we achieved this in some, too). As we entered the garden, a giant tour group entered with us and posed in front of the first fountain. They were a fun, boisterous crowd that seemed like they were going to be there a while. And not to mention, Chris had an open container that started to feel a bit conspicuous, so we sat on a bench to let the group "do their thing". As we enjoyed Chris' beer, I searched YouTube for the "Do-Re-Mi" video, as studying material. Watch the video, yourself, if you're so inclined, and see if you can spot the scenes we were able to capture.

With the large tour group dissipated and the beer can empty, we were ready to explore the gardens ourselves.

The roses were photographed by Venice.

he Fortress in the background (left), A beautiful Venice with a pretty flower (left)
Diana trying to emulate the statue (right)

Ok, so there are definitely some nice things about traveling on a weekend. Even though you're with all the crowds, there are things you see that you otherwise would miss. We walked back along the riverside and got to see another market, of sorts. All the craft makers had stalls of their wares, including scarves, clocks, clothes, purses, jewelry, and more. (This was all gone on Monday morning, so definitely a weekend-only event.)

Another view of the Fortress from the river (left). The craft tents along the river (right).

There seem to be a lot of fountains here. If it weren't so cold, the kids would play longer.
Despite the weather, Xander did get his shoe all wet and squeaky.

One of the things we learned, quickly, is that Mozart was born in Salzburg. Many of you classical music lovers might have already known this, but it was new to us. Well, you can't miss this fact here, as Mozart is EVERYWHERE. Mozart bags. Mozart chocolates. Mozart pencils. Mozart squishy balls. You name it, Mozart is on it. And he's on our free city-map. His place of birth, that is. We had decided to not aim for it, as it was a little off our path, or so we thought (dang map isn't to scale). As we were walking back to our hotel, I saw everyone looking up and taking photos. Turning to see what they saw, I saw what they saw. Mozarts Geburtshaus, Mozart's birth place. Photo snapped. Done!

A little hard to see, but Xander is standing under the "Salamander" sign (one of his nicknames) (left)
Mozart's Birth House. 

Back at the hotel, we asked the front desk to make a reservation for us at the K+K restaurant. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were informed that our reservation was "upstairs". This is not the only time this would happen. I'm not sure what happens on the bottom floor (that must be where the cooler kids sit?) but dinner reservations for us seem to be "upstairs". 

My dinner "won" tonight. It was beautifully arranged and tasted wonderful. Xander wasn't feeling to well, so he ordered only soup. No worries. Once he got a little food into his system, he was able to eat off the rest of our plates and no one went hungry and no food was wasted. He was even feeling better when dessert time came around. We all tried a different dessert with Chris trying the local Apple Strudel and me trying the local Sachertorte. The strudel was pretty good. The Sachertorte was a little dry (is that the way it's supposed to be or are there better ones out there?)

Diana's dinner (left), Xander's layered chocolate cake (middle),
Venice with a lamp on her head (right). I thought this lamp looked like one of those "lemon nets"

And so ends another day filled with great explorations and beautiful views.

Day 30: Praha Part 2

Family (left) Statues (middle) Final steps leaving the castle grounds (right)

After exiting the Prague Castle grounds, we headed for the famous Karluv Most (the Charles Bridge). No need for a bus or tram, we'll walk there.

One last thing to see while walking through the
castle grounds... um, we're pretending to not 
understand why this statue's genitals are so shiny...

We crossed along with all the other tourists. Crossing the bridge, I think we saw at least 10 caricature and portrait artists. We skipped this tourist trap. However, we did touch the appropriate statue (to ensure we'll return to Prague one day) and were equally grossed out (or was that just me?) that the statue is "clean" where everyone has touched it. We didn't investigate why, we didn't investigate if we touched the right one... we just followed the hoards of other tourists doing the same thing (good little sheep, we are). I have been trying to keep up with the history of all that we're seeing, but this whirlwind of a weekend has me catching up or falling behind. This weekend is really about doing what the tour books and coworkers tell us to do (mostly sight seeing) and I'll have to leave history and background for another day.

What I did notice, on the bridge, all The Cross and Crucifixion displays. As well as other saints and such (I'm guessing, as we didn't stop to read all the plaques, there were so many!)  But here are a few of them and some views:

Whirly Hat... who wore it better?

It was a beautiful day. So many were out on the water in big boats, row boats, and paddle boats. (top)
The beginning of the bridge (bottom-left)
A bishop (or such) giving a peace sign (or such) with the castle in the distance (bottom-right)

Segway, Segway, Segway

Ok, remember the selfie-sticks from Italy? Well, they're here too, but not as prominent as the Segway! OMG! There are Segway tours going on, just about, every block you walk and every corner you turn. Up the hill, down the hill, through the crowded squares, along the restaurant sidewalks... everywhere. I'm sure I'm wrong, but it seems to be a lot of men. I did see women, a few older kids, and a few people over 50. But mostly, it seemed to be younger men. I don't know I've seen these tours in other cities (like SF) and they make me laugh every single time.

I actually would love to try a Segway. But I'd prefer a closed course of sorts, without tourists and not in a place as beautiful as Prague. Just seems so out of place. But, it's the hot thing to do, apparently!

Random photo of parking-markers (designating a "spot"?) We liked them.

It was quite a nice day, but the sun could get warm during a walk. As we took a break for shade and a drink, we sat in a quaint little treed area just off the big square. We reminisced about Venice's pigeons as we watched a few play in front of us (not nearly as many, but just as curious for food).

Our treed-break area (top). Side of the astronomical clock (bottom-left). Part of Old Town (right).

The astronomical clock was next on our list. We weren't there "on the hour" and we were pretty tired. So we took some photos, oogled at the design and beauty, then made our way back to our hotel, passing through Old Town.

Astronomical Clock. The photo on the right was a vertical panorama
which distorted the clock as well as the man passing in front.

Random giant art piece. No explanation.

Tonight's dinner? Fish and Chips at the restaurant Fish and Chips! We decided to eat outside, since it was a beautiful evening (the restaurants even had blankets for you to use if you needed one, which we didn't, but still, cool!) As a result, we didn't get to enjoy the "over the top British decor". Oh well, we did enjoy our food (although Venice and I were still super full from lunch, so we didn't eat as much). I thoroughly enjoyed my Mushy Peas (I will need to learn to make these)!

While the kids were getting ready for bed, Chris made a call (no online chat this time) to AT&T to fix our accounts. Seems there was a gap, after all, and we were getting charged incorrectly. Chris thinks THIS time it's really fixed... at least for another month. Side note: We're at a month into our travels! Wow. Another experience where days can drag on, but the weeks are flying by.

P.S. My throat has been hurting all day (uh oh!) time to gargle with salt water (but where to get the salt? I've been thinking of ways to steal it from dinner or how to take a tablespoon worth home in my purse?)... then I decided... I have nasal rinse (too much information?) and if that's good enough for my nose... it's good enough to gargle!

Day 4: First Day in Venice

Wahoo, and we're off to Venice, Italy! Just a 25 minute taxi to the Berlin airport, with a lot LESS luggage than the last time. Phew! Venice was a little nervous about going through security, remembering the last time, but we pretty much sailed through... until they found scissors in her backpack. Ooops. They've been there the whole time, but this is the first time security found them. They had her take them out, saw that they were "kid" scissors (basically blunt tipped) and let her keep them. Another, phew!

They checked ID (passports) at checkin, but then nothing when we arrived in Italy. We got to walk through the Schengen arrival doors, so no customs since we were flying from within the Schengen area. Cool! I think this was a bingo item for Venice.

Side note: Chris was signed a seat in a different row than us. But, just before take-off, he asked to change to an open seat and was able to join us. Just weird. The entire row in front of the kids was empty and the seat next to me was empty. And yet, Chris was signed a seat a few rows up next to a mom with an unhappy baby. He got to sit with his family, and the mom had more room to move with her baby. Win-win!

Ready! Set! Arrived!

Upon arrival in Venice, Chris and Xander figured out what tickets to get for transportation into Venice. The last time we traveled here, we took the train from the Bologna airport, so this was new to us. We took a city bus to Venice and then a water taxi. The water taxi was crazy full. People shoved right up into your personal space. A taxi worker kept telling us we had to take our backpacks off. You had to either stow it or hold it. I guess they figure it makes more room for people to be shoved all in. I think I stepped on a dog's tail, who was sitting so quietly with his owners. Sorry!

We checked into the hotel and left our bags (too early to get into the room), and went out to find lunch. This restaurant was just something to tide us over, so nothing special. We did find out something interesting about the bathrooms here. It is typical to have a door to the bathrooms open into a small sink area. Then, there are two doors, one for women and one for men. Doesn't sound odd. But the sink area is small and it is sometimes awkward to be sharing space with the opposite sex when you are used to having a lot of space alone. The first one had frilly mirrors and girls primping, so if you're a dude, you have to walk by them and into your bathroom stall, just inches away. Not horrible, just different. After a few uses, I got used to the idea and, really, I didn't bump into anyone in all that time... it was mostly just the anticipation that kept me on my toes.

Clock tower (left). Government building (middle-left).
The kids playing in a giant water puddle (middle-right). The left-front of the Basilica (right).

We walked to Piazza San Marco. Oh, my! It was crowded! Again, I don't remember it being this crowded. But the buildings were just as beautiful as I remembered. The kids took a break from the heat by wading through the giant puddle that covered the middle of the Piazza.

We had no real plans for today. Just to walk about and take it all in. We headed to the water's edge at the port. The kids stuck their feet into the water there. The beauty of the place definitely takes a little weight out of the heat.

Gelato. We must find gelato. Ok, not hard to find, as there is a gelateria on every "block". You just have to find a good one (but I still argue that they are all probably good). We hunted for a specific one recommended to us and enjoyed our first-of-many gelatos. Then onto our hotel to find our room and take a rest.

View from our balcony at the "Starhotel Splendid Venice" hotel (left and middle)
Venice, pretending to think the bidet was a water fountain (right)

We stayed at the Starhotel Splendid Venice, thanks to HotelTonight's help with this one. It is located between the Rialto bridge and the Piazza San Marco. Great for walking to all the main spots. But it is a slight trade-off in that you are in the heart of the the hustle and bustle (translate to noise and crowds). We are in a family room which is ginormous. Three big rooms (entry, kids beds, master beds) with a large bathroom (tub and shower, bidet, big counters). And thanks to science, we have air conditioning, the BEST thing about the room, really! We do have a wonderful balcony and a views of a canal and bridges... but did I mention the air conditioning? Love it.

Side note: The electrical plugs are NOT the same as in Germany. What? But don't panic, Chris brought one universal-converter and we were able to share that one to recharge all our devices. Phew! We didn't bring laptops, but boy, we needed our phones (for navigation and communication) and the kids NEEDED their iPods to be charged! We scraped by with the shared converter. It just meant that the kids had to leave their iPods to charge in the room during the day, so they couldn't take them out to take photos of their own. Lesson learned. May need more universal-converters for other travels in the future.

As much as we wanted to rest and not do much (we were all tired from an early start), we decided we must walk to the other side of the island to meet Alessandro, one of HotelTonight's hotel-side correspondents. He grew up in Murano and has now lived in Venice for many, many years. He works with the Hotel Antiche Figure on the Ferrovia side of Venice and LOVES his city. He loves to share his knowledge of its history and ideas of where to visit.

Kids and map (left), Chris and Alessandro (middle), Kids walking (right)

We met Alessandro at his hotel and were greeted with warm welcomes and bellinis. He spent a long time showing us the map and pointing out places to see, eat, and visit. The kids had their iPods this time (this was before we realised the outlets were different) and occupied themselves quietly as we studied the map. Alessandro then walked us to dinner before heading home, and we enjoyed a nice dinner to end our day.

Alessandro had sent other clients to the same restaurant (clients who were staying at his hotel) and they sat right next to us. They were ending their 2 week trip (a New Jersey family with three grown daughters). As we talked about their trip, our trip, and other niceties, Venice and Xander (but Venice in particular) were super tired and ready to go back to the hotel for some good rest.

Side note: I am now remembering how long the Italians like to eat (or enjoy each other's company at the table). You get service and food very fast, but it takes about a year to get the bill. EVERY TIME we have to say, "Il conto per favore". And even that takes a while.

As a result, no kid brushed their teeth tonight. It was straight to bed with those sleepyheads.