Me by the Rialto Bridge saying good-bye to Venice for the time being

Christi and I make great wanderers. We didn't mind that it took us three hours to complete our mission to go to the bus station and check on tickets to the San Marco airport for Christi. We didn't care because we got to visit our friend in the clothes shop who recognized us from the window and waved us in. We got to casually stroll into a bakery and order a few of whatever delicious pastries just came out on a tray from the kitchen. We got to sit and chat about stamps to a British man who was mailing a post card. Case in point, wandering is awesome.

We even wandered off the street to find a place to eat dinner and ended up at a completely empty restaurant. We were the only ones there the whole time and unfortunately that meant the waiter just sat at another table nearby, just waiting to see if we needed any bread or another fork. The food was, surprise surprise, delicious. We found out that our favorite salad of tomatoes and mozzarella is called a Caprease salad and it isn't a good idea to pour oil directly on bread when you don't have a plate to dip in. The famous Spritz cocktail is also not that great and I'd highly recommend Bellini over that Italian drink any day.

So after a very wet walk through Venice on this rainy night, I am now in a dimly lit train compartment with my damp clothes hanging up around me and swaying erratically to the bumps. I knew this was going to be a bit different than our train from Vienna to Venice right from the first very high and difficult step onto the rusty ladder into the train. First of all, the light inside here is flickering away at its last few hours of life while the sparse curtains are finding it difficult to block the fluorescents of the hallway outside. The floor is unpainted wood and there doesn't seem to be much hope for an outlet. I was about to give it up as a much less appealing ride than my last night train (especially with the absence of a cool traveling companion like Christi) when the conductor handed me a little gift bag with a Christmas tree on one side and "WE WISH YOU A PLEASANT JOURNEY!" in some quite fascinating language on the other side, complete with the English translation. Honestly, this writing looks like you'd be able to understand it perfectly if you looked at it in a mirror while upside-down, so neat! Anyways, of course I was excited to get a present from my conductor so I opened it to find a tiny bar of soap in a plastic container, a washcloth in a hygienically sealed bag and the most hilarious pair of slippers. They are white and made out of the same materials that are used in those little airline pillows. Also, they are five sizes too big. I've already grown fond of them though.

Ouch! I just stood up to hang up my scarf that had fallen down and the train decided that now would be a great time to stop. I couldn't help falling into the side of the compartment and landed on my arm right on this little bit of metal completely missing the hefty amount of soft cushioning. Grr. I guess its been awhile since I've had a bruise though with no rugby. Must change that when I *hopefully* visit Banta in Germany.

So I guess I've got this compartment all to myself tonight as the conductor only brought in one set of bedding. I'm just sitting here drinking my little bottle of wine and listening to the raindrops on the roof. I think I'll complete the moment by playing some Beatles and maybe a bit of Fratellis. Woohoo, party in compartment 6! Luckily I can sing in here, these songs are much too catchy.

Bist du depot! The lights just all went out and we've stopped somewhere that is clearly not a station. My goodness, I hate when that happens because it reminds me of the part in Harry Potter when the Hogwarts Express stops and the dementors get on the train.

Gosh, sitting here in this darkness makes me miss Christi. We had a great two and a half weeks of traveling together and I'm glad we'll be able to sit and reminisce about it in Homer. And of course we'll have to invite our new friends for an Alaskan experience to equal the great Euro-experience we were treated to. Maybe I'll do a sweet song and dance for the people at the next station, just for you Christi. Good times my friend, good times. :)

Wowzer, there are mirrors on the underside of the top bunks so while laying on the bottom bunks it looks like they are on the ceiling. How very kinky, and of course the Mika song that just came on my shuffle is oh so appropriate.

And now this MGMT song is reminding me of my lovely friends in Aberdeen so this is just a little shout out to Wavell House. Love you guy and I wish I could be there to help Lindsay dye hair. Ben--I rocked the blue hair for awhile and totally loved it, hope you love it too!