well, the good news is ...

Today, the story of "yes, I speak English, and can show you the sights of Venice"

On Monday, Dad and I went to Venice for the day. It was just amazing to see how the city was built directly on the water. While I'd done some reading, I had no comprehension of the SIZE of the place.

The fellow above on the left was our tour-guide/gondola paddler. He assured us that, "yes, he could tell us all about the buildings we were seeing in English." Unfortunately, "all about" had a slightly different meaning. :) He was able to tell us the names of the buildings in English. But I'm afraid that was about it.

It was amazing to observe that he was able to paddle the boat, while standing in the stern, and at the same time carry on cell phone conversations. He did it consistently, and didn't make it look at all difficult. :)

It was a beautiful place, and fascinating just because of the logistics of the construction. We wandered around a good bit on foot as well.

Health-related accountability stuff ... While spending 6 days in Italy, consuming heretofore unimaginable quantities of cream, butter, chocolate and cheese, I managed to lose 2 pounds.

I'm not complaining! :)

More soon!
Trinka