Wednesday, April 07, 2010

We're Here!

Lots of traveling by van, plane, bus, and vaporetto, but now we are finally in Venice, ensconced in the Hotel Tivoli. This is a two-star hotel not far from the Campo San Toma, close to where we stayed last summer. I am sitting out in the garden, writing this using their free wireless connection.

No pictures tonight because I am tired and not very organized but I hope to have some tomorrow. I took a couple at the Rome airport, where they are trying desperately to remodel a very dated facility. Three hours was a long time to sit there and all we really did was try to recharge our phones. That seems to be a theme with us. And we aren't even using them for calling. Peter's phone at least shows the right time. Mine is still on Illinois time for some unknown reason.

This afternoon I picked up my conference materials but I still haven't really had time to go through them very well. In the morning I will try to catch sessions where friends are giving papers and then have lunch with Peter. I'm still not sure about the afternoon. Then I had my first gelato--dark chocolate with orange and hazelnut, yum. Afterwards I broke down and bought a new scarf, like I really needed another one. I got it at Pandora, a little shop on the Campo San Toma and I had a long chat with the owner. It was nice to have a conversation with a Venetian. Her English is much better than my now practically non-existant Italian.

For dinner we went to a very small trattoria, which is evidently very popular, just off the Campo San Polo. There was quite a line most of the time we were there. Unfortunately my gnocchi with salmon was quite salty but the texture was excellent. Everyone else was very happy with their pasta. Maybe I can get Peter to split risotto next time.

Time for bed. We are both exhausted.

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