May 2nd: Taking Care of Business in Venice

Today we rushed off to meet the agent and get moved into our apartment.  We took a 45 minute trip down the Grand Canal, which we thought would only take us about 30 minutes, and our stop is probably the most popular one in Venice. 

There is a tourist tax in Venice or 2.5 Euros per day to a maximum of 10E per person, and I had forgotten that we were paying for 5 people, so we needed to go to a bank machine and then meet the agent back at their office.  I also wanted to get a WIFI key, which I did, but it is both slow and charged for by the hour, so there may be a few fewer pictures for a while.  This is a great pity, as I walk around snapping pictures by the hundreds, as everything one looks at in Venice is beautiful.

Our apartment is blessedly cool, and we couldn’t ask for a better location.  We are a three minute walk from the San Marco Zacharetti Vaporetto stop, and our bedroom window looks right down into a leather bag store.  We really wish our friend Sharon was with us to truly appreciate it!  We have a little courtyard, and a restaurant has some tables in it, but otherwise you would not know that you are in the heart of the busiest tourist spot in the world.

We walked to the tourist office, and took the vaporetto back.  We have been for groceries – coffee, tea, and a few breakfast items.  In about an hour, we will go to the airport to meet my mom, who gets in at 5:40, and Ian’s mom, who gets in about an hour later.  Our niece, Alanna, doesn’t get in until 10:40, so we will make another trip later when both of our moms have settled in.