Boats, Babies, Bolognese Lasagna

Here begins my blog. We’ll see how long I can keep it up, but hopefully there will be an entry almost every day. In lack of a more creative way to start off my first post, I’ll just jump right in:

My trip began today around 1:30PM, when I left Tuscaloosa for the Atlanta International Airport. I got there early, checked my bags, ate, and boarded my 9:15PM flight to Heathrow Airport in London. This eight hour trip consisted of screaming babies, abundant turbulence, and long restroom lines; but immediately became more pleasant after popping in a couple of Dramamine pills.

After landing at Heathrow, I grabbed my luggage, went through customs, and purchased a bus ticket to the Gatwick airport (about a forty-five minute drive). When I arrived, I re-checked my bags, went through customs a second time, and ate my first meal abroad, “beef and ale pie with mash and veggies”-- t’was decent. Afterwards, I grabbed a mocha from Costa Coffee and sat around until my 4:10PM flight.

When 4:10 came around, I hopped on my last flight of the day (more screaming babies) to the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. This trip was much shorter than the first, totaling about 4 hours. Once I landed and got my things together, I set out on a public water bus, headed to the Rialto Bridge in Venice.

As soon as we docked at Rialto, I asked around for directions to my hotel (Da Bruno), which was about a five minute walk from the bridge, nestled in a small square of shops and restaurants. I dropped my things off in my room and went back out to walk around the city. Even though Venice is a huge network of streets and alleys, I really didn’t have that much trouble finding my way around. All I had to do was follow the signs back to the Rialto Bridge, and find my way back to the hotel. Many of the shops were already closed, so I’ll write more about those later this week, but what I did see was beautiful. The buildings were very…Italian-looking. All I can really say is that it was everything I expected and more.

At around 10:30PM (Venice time), it was time to have my first true Italian meal. After looking around for a while, I decided on Ristorante Marco Polo, and I do not regret this decision one bit. The meal consisted of selections from three different columns, each being a single course. I started off with a Bolognese Lasagna, followed that up with an amazing chicken dish, and finished it all off with a mystery desert (the menu simply said “homemade dessert,” but it was delicious nonetheless. Every single bite was fantastic, and the atmosphere was amazing. I’m not sure if these cell phone pictures will do it justice, but you’ll have to trust me.

Whelp, that just about concludes episode one of “I Miei Viaggi.” Tune in tomorrow for episode two, where I get into a tussle with the local police and jump from the Rialto Bridge onto an unsuspecting gondola!

PS: I have a bidet.