Venice - The finale, Part Deux

The fat lady hasn't finished singing, so we haven't yet left Venice.

Our bags were packed and off we sailed to the bus station. We needed a ticket to the airport, kind of. Our overnight hotel was closer to the airport BUT where was the the burning question. Off we started, after having a discussion about whether we should go directly to the airport and then "rent a car". At least it was daytime and we could see where to go. That, was not necessarily a good idea. Our driver was obviously more interested in surpassing the fastest land speed record for buses. After the requisite hairpin corners that flung the occupants around like bowling pins and luggage being strewn around like rice at a wedding, we left the limits of Venice and headed down a country road which doubled as the main route to the international airport.

The bus continued down the way, and completely by accident, we saw the sign for our hotel. A screeching halt and we were left by the road, abandoned without even a "Ah, there it is" or even an "arrivederci".

Luckily there was very little traffic and we crossed the road and up the gravel driveway to our bed and breakfast inn. The absence of noise was quite deafening even though we had thought that our garden house was quiet. We were now in the Italian countryside, complete with a mixed up rooster that kept crowing throughout the day. But it was beautiful.
If only we had a car.

As intrepid adventuresses (?????), we rested and then headed back into Venice (aside - Did you know that you have to flag down the buses in Italy? Felt like Scarlett o'Hara waving at the cotillion to one really big suitor.) for one final dinner and to meet up with Liz and her mother. Don't you just love the symmetry?

A couple glasses of wine, great food, fabulous desserts and fantastic company in magnificent Venice made for a very good evening indeed. It was somewhat surreal, meeting Liz in a place so totally opposite to School, but we remained strong and steadfast in our determination to enjoy ourselves under such adverse conditions. Liz and her mother also have had some adventures, but that is for Liz to recount. Suffice to say, I only managed to lose a hat and an adaptor.

Back on the bus we toddled. It sure was a different experience in the evening. It was dark, really dark, dark as in no-streetlights-dark. Luckily, we had memorized some landmarks - before the town limits of Tessera, after the Avis car rental place, and across from the Jeep dealership. Try saying that in Italian. However, our second bus driver proved to be a bit more proficient and once again we were deposited by the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere.

The next morning we were up bright and early. Interestingly enough, the rooster didn't crow. As experienced travelers, we flagged down the proper bus and headed off to the airport.

We flew Darwin Airlines, or as they are more commonly known as "Fly Baboo". I don't remember the last time that I flew in a turbo prop airplane. Only about 60 other brave souls accompanied us into a small plane that was decorated with bright orange flowers reminiscent of the VW camper vans from the 60's. Talk about reassuring. However, it did the job quite nicely and even provided a good lunch (fresh ham and cheese sandwich, drink and cookie). I thought only positive thoughts and never once considered the condemned man's final meal allusion.

Thus ended our Italian portion of our journey to enlightenment.

So far, we have discovered:
Wine can help survive anything.
Chocolate in the morning is a good thing.
Strong cafe con latte can brighten any day.
People survive on pure dumb luck every day.
The sun shining in Venice and Nice is very, very nice.