17 January 1977 Monday
With some difficulty we got up and redressed somewhat (although all but Susanna slept in clothes). The washroom accepted American type plugs (w/230 volts) so I was able to shave with my electric shaver. We talked a good bit with the girl in our compartment and got some suggestions about parts of Venice to stay in. We decided to aim for the Piazza San Marco area, closer to the center of things.
In the station we were accosted by first one then another man in hotel uniforms. The second was persistent and talked us into going to his place. He first said 22,000 lire (about $24.00) for a room with a bath. He then said we’d have to take a taxi since the Vaporetti (boat-bus) was on strike (this didn’t seem to be true, but we didn’t know). Our taxi driver also bargained, so we gave him 5,000 instead of the 7,000 he first wanted. (The hotel hustler spoke good English, the taxi driver didn’t).





Our taxi was a large barge-like boat with no seats, only a place to lean against. We took a shortcut and came back out on the Grand Canal near the Accademia Bridge. Our driver carried the bags all the way to the hotel Pellegrine-Commercio, which was on a small side street. I gave him an extra 1000 for a tip.
Our room was adequate. It was still only 11:00 a.m. or so, so we cleaned up and went out for lunch and a look around. We found that we were a very short distance (one canal) from the Piazza San Marco, where the pigeons are.



We walked around, then found a little restaurant for spaghetti and lasagna, and wine. The waiter at Tabernetta da Carlo e Renzo spoke good English. We walked as far as the Accademia Bridge and back, stopping at a travel agent to find out about trains to Milan, at an Italian tourist bureau to find out about the opera (they only could tell us that Norma premiers Tues. (Jan. 18), at a bank to a bank to exchange $100 for 86,500 lire (I had already gotten 38,115 at the station for our remaining Austrian schillings).
Back at the Piazza we bought tickets to go up the elevator to the top of the Campanile (bell tower) for a magnificent view of Venice. We understand that the day was unusually clear, that Venice is usually foggy. One thing we saw that delighted Susanna was a carnival (fun fair), and it was just beyond our hotel. Had we not gone up the tower we wouldn’t have seen it.



First, though, Susanna agreed to go into the San Marco church. It was quite large, Romanesque, with gold (real?) mosaic ceiling and a very uneven tile floor.
There were no seats around, but there was a good bit of work going on both inside and out. Susanna also agreed to visit the Doge’s Palace. For a small fee we walked through the rooms that had elaborate ceilings and a few interesting paintings. The tour took us through the dungeon and across the Bridge of Sighs.

Susanna had a good time at the Carnival and rode on almost everything, even some that nearly scared me to death (since I had to go too) safety standards are less rigid here than in the U.S. Kids seem to use the rides to prove themselves. Eleven- and twelve-year-olds stood up in the whirling rides (the scary ones) and jumped on the Ferris wheel as it went by (although the wheel was slower and smaller than most. And the seats were like baskets, without any rail.) It was not a scary ride.





We found a small restaurant for supper. The meal was okay but mine (fish) was probably the least good one I’ve had this trip. Alice had chicken and had it adequate.
Our one day in Venice was one of our best. The weather was excellent: clear. Not too cold. There was no odor around town, as we’ve heard there is. Walking was pleasant, and the boat rides were not too cold. It takes quite a bit of adjustment to get used to the money in Italy. At present, 10,000 lire is about $12.00. We move the decimal three places and add 20%, but there have been several occasions when momentary confusion threw us off.
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