Just a short post about yesterday, most of which was spent on the EuroCity 87 train, crossing from Germany into Austria and then down into Italy. The views were quite spectacular, and I've posted two pictures, but they do little justice to the reality. This has something to do with the sense of scale you get when you're standing, for instance, at the edge of the Grand Canyon, which is totally lost in a flat image. But at least you get the idea.
 |
 |
Nonetheless, the trip was a congenial, if long, six hours and two different sets of fellow passengers joined me in our comfortable, six-person, 1st class compartment
We arrived right on time at 6:10 pm at St. Lucia station in Venice, and I was lucky to exit the stazione ferroviaria (rail station), get a vaporetto (water bus) ticket, and then step right onto the #2, which swept around the west of Venice and down the Giudecca Canal. Dusk fell, the lights sparkled across the water, and the wind freshened up before a cold front. I love this part of arriving in Venice – riding the waves, the pas de deux of the pilot and conductor at each stop, the promise of exploring the island – and it always makes me smile. I disembarked at San Zaccaria and was soon checking in at my favorite Venetian hotel, Casa Fontana. And what a nice room Diego had waiting for me: double bed, beautiful tile flooring, private bath with shower, and best of all, a balcony with two chairs and a table, overlooking the piazza of the San Zaccaria church. Today: fine Italian food and wine!
The Occasionally-Examined Life 