Cruise day one

It's a strange feeling waking up in Italy on Wednesday morning and knowing that the last time I woke up from a bed it was Monday morning in Connecticut.

It was one long day with several "plane naps" and many miles.

We left from Hartford just after 6:00 pm Monday and arrived in Venice about 11:00 am Tuesday, losing 6 hours with the time zone change.

One of Michelle's big wishes was to take an evening Gondola ride in Venice but the excusion sold out before we could sign up so when we arrived we put our name on the waiting list.

Our chances didn't look good, even several hours later so we took someone's advice and tried to strike out on our own.

To say I was nervous about venturing into a country where neither of us speaks the language and have no clue as to the geography of the city would be an understatement.

Anyway, we were no more than 10 minutes from the ship and Michelle could see I was a few steps from panic mode and suggested we abort the mission.

I felt like I had let her down.

When we got back to the room, 2 tickets were waiting for us, and soon we were with a group and headed for the gondola, stress free.

What a wonderful night it turned out to be.

A ride slipping through the canals of Venice with a group of 4 or 5 gondolas being serenaded all the way!

We returned to ship tired and happy, but too late for dinner but no worries....

They delivered steak to our room!

Arrivederchi!!