A City Afloat

ATTENTION: GUEST BLOGGER TODAY
I think we will save the big reveal for the end, but see if you can guess before then!

We pulled into the port of Venice today and Dad insisted we all go out on deck to see the city that floats – and rightly so- it is amazing! We tried several vantage points – all very crowded. I joked that the ship was leaning to one side from everyone rushing over to see Venice. My favorite observation point was the Sky Lounge where they were playing very dramatic opera music! We ended up watching the remainder of the spectacular entrance from our very own balcony! Lucky us to have a room on the right side of the boat!
We did the usual “cattle herding” into the Solstice Theater (more about that later) to await our turn to go ashore for our excursion – a walking tour of “The Secrets of Venice”. I don’t think they told us any secrets, but we did CHASE our tour guide around the crowded, winding, and narrow city streets for a couple of hours. It was amazing but a little fast paced and very, very crowded with tourists. I think we all agreed that we would very quickly be lost on our own in the winding streets that seem to have no organized plan. (Even Dad and Emily) We were glad when the tour ended and we were had a little free time to explore on our own. If you know us, you know we are all about the food, so we used “free time” to enjoy more pizza! Yum!
One of the funny (or shocking) things that happened on today’s tour was about one of our fellow excursion takers, who shall remain nameless – mostly because we don’t know her name! She made herself a target of our attention as soon as we boarded the water taxi at the beginning of our tour by talking loudly and laughing even louder! When her companion suggested that she be quiet because she may be ruining the ride for others, she spoke up even louder and said she “did not really give…” well, you can imagine the rest, and yes, it contained words I’ll not use here!
Mom was appalled!
There were other rude displays from that one throughout the tour, but the big one came toward the end, when we were navigating a very narrow residential area of the city. We all noticed the doorbells at the entrances of the apartments on either side, some of them being very decorative. This rude guest apparently rang a bell or two as we passed. We did not actually witness this as she was behind us, but it became obvious minutes later when a Venice resident rushed to the front of our tour group to complain to our guide. The guide just brushed her away, but everyone knew something was up! We were just ahead of the offender, so we heard her conversation about how she had just “gotten in trouble” and how she did not care – “I mean what are they going to do to me? Kick me off the boat?” and “she probably did a lot worse when she was 17!” It was obvious she was nervous about being caught! We were glued to the action! Later, when we stopped at the end, we overheard the guide whispering to her that she should not ring anymore doorbells as the police could arrest her! So exciting! She quickly slipped away from the group! We are now constantly on the look out for this little stinker for pure entertainment value!
We came back onboard about 9 pm, just in time for more eating! Because we were to be in Venice overnight, dinner was open seating, meaning we did not have assigned tables. We were happy to be lead to a table pretty much in the center of the Grand Epernay dining room (our usual table is off to one side, but with a large window). This table was not just for four, but meant for eight guests. Well, let me tell you, we were soooo excited! We never get seated with anyone else! After several minutes went by, and then several more, it became apparent that we were STILL not going to be seated with anyone else! Wah, wah, waaaaah! Bummer!
This brought on a lively conversation about why not. Why can’t we be allowed to sit with others? What in our behavior makes them keep us segregated? Here are just a few thoughts we came up with:
*We refer to the wine steward at “the wine guy”. This may not seem like such a bad thing at first glance, but you really have to see him to get it. Let me see if I can draw you a picture. He dresses very seriously in his burgundy silk short jacket and wears a tasting dish around his neck (on a chain) at all times. A LARGE tasting dish! From a chain! Think Flavor Flav! We also joked about calling him “Hey, Joe! Set me up!”, but would never actually say that! Wink, wink!
*We can sometimes, just some of us, be caught dipping, or even rolling, our breadsticks in the butter as opposed to using a butter knife properly.
*We are sometimes guilty of staring at fellow dinner guests, particularly if they are dressed strangely, or if their conversations seem more interesting than ours!
*Our fascination with the before-mentioned naughty guest (doorbell ringer). I must mention she made an appearance very near our table (not with us – whew!) dressed in what appeared to be a plaid blanket! Now we call her “Blanket”. Clever, don’t you think? We’ll be on the lookout for more Blanket sightings!

As it turns out, our big moment came the very next day at open seating lunch in the big dining room. We were led to a table with 3 guests and room for more than just the four of us! Dad struck up a conversation with them as a couple of lovely women sat down at the opposite end. Guess what? They were ALL from Texas! Coincidence? I think not! They keep all of us “ya’ll” saying, twang-talking, unruly people together! We quite enjoyed our lunch with our Texas neighbors!

If you haven’t guessed yet, Mom (Amy) is doing the blog today! I hope you enjoyed!