Italia!!

It has been a few days since our last blog, and what a few last days it has been. We took the train to Vienna and then an overnight train to Venice. We were in a snug car with 4 other people, two women from Argentina and a couple from Lebanon. Luckily, no one snored!

We discovered that Venice is the most overpriced city...ever. The gondola rides were way too spendy, so we did what the locals do: ride the traghetto. It is basically a gondola but you pack the people on and ride across the Grand Canal. We also took the water taxi, vaporetto, all around Venice and included Murano on our trip. This little island off Venice is home to the glass blowers. We went to several furnaces to see them at work. Very neat.

San Marco was very incredible with all its mosaics and its bumpy floor since Venice is slowly sinking into the sea. They also want to nickle and dime you to death. Entrace to the basillica is free, but it costs to go to the crypt, the treasury, the golden altar, the tower, etc. What a racket! But beautiful nonetheless.

In the evening, we went to our friend Mario's house in Modena. It was quite a place. He was able to rent an old French horn for me and I played in his wedding a few days later. I was pretty rusty after 6 weeks of no playing, but I think I did alright. Katie hung out with a bunch of our new friends that we made while I helped Mario finish writing some music and do some errands before the wedding. By the way, his reception dinner was held at a restaurant that Pavarotti owns and often dines at, very fancy!

We will return to Mario's in a few days, but now we are in Florence. It is Monday, so the Uffizi museum and Accademia were closed, so we haven't seen any of the famous art there yet, but we did cross the Ponte Vecchio and check out the jewelery shops. We also went inside the Duomo with the famous dome of Brunelleschi and got a free guided tour. Very intriguing. I am now at the laundromat with Katie and they have internet access here. A nice idea!

We will visit the Uffizi and get back to you in a few days!