North of France
Hello again to everyone. We certainly hope you have been enjoying the long weekend and have had plenty to eat. We weren�t able to track down any turkey on Thursday, so we had to settle for pasta. But somehow we managed.
Mom and Dad went home yesterday morning. It seemed like they had a great time on their visit. We were very happy to see them, of course, and were impressed by their endurance during some of the long sightseeing days in Venice. But now they are back in DC and will try to get over the jet lag before starting back to work tomorrow morning.
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Venice. As I have said, the sights and smells of the city are something everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime. There is a serenity that dominates a city largely devoid of any motorized vehicles. And unless something is done soon, Venice probably won�t last another hundred years. The islands are slowly being reclaimed by the ocean.
The highlight of the last couple days was our extensive visit to the Doge�s Palace, the home of the president of the Venetian republic for hundreds of years. The building is part official residence, part parliament, part courthouse, and part prison. Situated right on the Grand Canal, it is probably the ultimate representation of Venetian republican ideals. The Doge�s apartments are, while very nice, smaller than we expected and less ornate. I mean, the ruler of an empire (and that�s what Venice became at one time, her wealth created by her unique position between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire) should, by all rights, have taken over most of the building for official state rooms and formal bedrooms a la Versailles. But the greatest and most ornate of the rooms in the palace were those dedicated to legislation and justice.
We decided to take the Secret Itineraries Tour, which costs a little extra, but goes through areas of the palace not seen by all tourists. We saw a few of the offices where clerks and magistrates worked on public and secret documents. We saw the cells which once housed the famous playboy Casanova, and we heard the story of his daring escape from the prison, the only acknowledged escape in the entire history of the structure. If anyone is planning a trip to Venice, this is a must. Pay the extra money and see the whole thing. Between the tour and our time walking through the main rooms of the palace, we spent about five hours. And we could have done much more.
Yesterday was spent leisurely walking through Venice�s many streets and alleyways. Being Saturday, a number of street markets were thriving, and we took the opportunity to do some shopping for Christmas. We had given my parents all our purchases from the last month, leaving us with lots of space in our luggage, but I think we filled all that space in the course of one afternoon. And we still have three weeks left, so we might have to invest in another bag somewhere along the way.
We took an overnight train last night from Venice to Paris, arriving this morning at 8:30. The train was nice, and the beds were comfortable enough, but we didn�t sleep as well as we have the last couple weeks. After arriving in Paris, we had 40 minutes to race all the way across the city to another train station to catch our train to Bayeux, on the Normandy coast. I was freaking out, I won�t lie. Being Sunday, the number of trains running is vastly reduced and, had we missed this train, we would have had to wait at the station until 1:30 � not the way we would want to spend our Sunday morning. We walked briskly out of the train station to the Metro stop, all the while my brain turning over all the possibilities of what we might have to do to make the connection. We didn�t have a Metro map, so I had no idea what would be required. I only knew it would be tight. But, as we descended into the station, we saw that there was a direct line between the station that made only 4 other stops. Needless to say, we made the train in plenty of time.
So our time in Italy is finally finished. I think we�ll miss the people and the food most of all, although the sights in Italy are certainly world-class. But we have more to see, of course. Hopefully the weather will hold, and we won�t see any snow until we reach Germany. That remains to be seen.
Our little daughter is moving around all the time now. It�s gotten to the point that we can see her kicking when Colleen is lying down. The best part, though, is when she rolls around, and we can feel a shoulder roll by. The miracle of life amazes us every day.
Colleen is also doing well. Long days walking barely phase her any more, and I have been constantly impressed by her ability to keep up with me, and her constant desire to do and see more. We are certainly getting as much as we can out of this trip.
Well, this email has gone on far too long at this point. Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone. We�ll be in touch soon.
Paul and Colleen
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