Stinky Frenchies

Yesterday we traveled from Siena to Florence to Venice. We've decided that it was, without question, the worst traveling experience yet. The train from Siena to Florence was 25 minutes late. But, we had 40 minutes in between connecting trains so, no big deal. When the day turned sour was when this french couple sat down behind us. And they smelled of rancid old onions mixed with sweat. UGH. The highlight of the ride was a man we lovingly referred to as fashion designer man, as he was dressed in a white linen suit, a neon lime green shirt with an orange scarf to accent. He did not appreciate anyone sitting next to him, especially the stinky frenchies. We thought that would be the worst train ride ever, until we boarded the train from Florence to Venice. We weren't sitting together nor were any of the passengers near us very courteous. Basically, it sucked. But, that just made our arrival in Venice that much sweeter! Especially once we found the hotel and learned that we had the nicest room in the place, complete with a glass chandalier and fresco on the ceiling. Niiiiice.

Venice has the best weather out of any city we've been to, if you can ignore the occasional stench of fish wafting through the alleyways. The streets are packed but that's nothing new compared to Rome! We took a Gondola ride last night and that was absolutely beautiful! Pretty much out of a movie: The Newlyweds take a romantic gondala ride on their honeymoon to Italy. The Gondalier - or Gondola Man as we like to call him - talked about all the architecture and different spots along the ride, and honked before we rounded a corner by SHOUTING some Italian that we couldn't understand. Every shout followed by 'This my horn.' Today we visited Palazzo Ducale which is a palace that was occupied by some important people. We didn't care enough to read all of the signs around the place to tell us why it was so important, we were too busy sneaking picutres in the 'No Foto' area, for which Patrick got reamed out by the Italian museum federale.

An interesting competition that Patrick and I have begun since we've been here is who can take a picture of the shortest, tightest man shorts in Italy. I am currently winning with a sexy little white number, complete with the bottom of the cheeks hanging out the back. We will definitely post all of our competition photos for your viewing pleasure at a later date.

We're off to dinner at a restaurant recommended for its authentic Venetian food by our hotel's front desk clerk. Yum yum.

Tomorrow we head to Florence to see The David! On top of our exhaustion, we're beginning to feel bummed that our trip is coming to an end :( But, we're trying to look at is as a beginning instead!

Buona Sera!

Pat & Riley