g a 'Harry Potter' train with compartments. However, Jennifer 'unleashed her inner gamer' and spent most of the journey in a virtual battle with Luke's PSP, complete with a subsequent headache. A short stop in Bologna gave us the chance to restock our caffeine levels before boarding our Freccia Argento high speed train to Verona. Our visit to Verona gave us the chance to check out the elegant pink and white terrazzo-tiled streets around Piazza Bra' and the Arena, Verona's mini Colosseum, and of course, Juliet's balcony and statue. A stroll around Piazza delle Erbe meant opportunities to sample some snacks and gelat
i before we headed back to check out the market stalls in the main square. Michelle's weakness for ciambelle was again in evidence, so we walked it off with a visit to the crenellated Ponte Scaligeri before returning to the train station ready for our next stop, Venezia.
i before we headed back to check out the market stalls in the main square. Michelle's weakness for ciambelle was again in evidence, so we walked it off with a visit to the crenellated Ponte Scaligeri before returning to the train station ready for our next stop, Venezia.
As we approached Venice, Anastasia was very happy to discover that we did not, in fact, have to swim with our luggage or that the train did not have to go inside a ferry to complete the last part of the journey. Since we were staying in two different hotels, Michelle and I, along with the boys, headed off to our hotel while the girls stayed and watched the world go by along the Grand Canal. The boys discovered that their hotel room had a terrace overlooking the Canareggio Canal, while Michelle and I had difficulty just finding our room. It ended up being in the attic, with the room number written in pencil in tiny numbers on the door jamb. Once inside, we could fully appreciate our 'Alice in Wonderland' room - or we could have, if we had been able to stand upright in it. A few close encounters with smacked heads on beams followed, and Michelle still has a bump after a particularly heavy hit. I'm sure that it will go away
in a few days! Returning to the train station, we collected the girls and headed off to find somewhere to eat on the way to their hotel. It wasn't the best choice of eaterie in the end as they were expecting a big group in and hustled us out. Oh well, at least Sharon got hers for free - although that was simply because she didn't know that the cashiers were in fact there to collect the money. By this time everyone was more than a little tired so sleep was a fantastic idea.
in a few days! Returning to the train station, we collected the girls and headed off to find somewhere to eat on the way to their hotel. It wasn't the best choice of eaterie in the end as they were expecting a big group in and hustled us out. Oh well, at least Sharon got hers for free - although that was simply because she didn't know that the cashiers were in fact there to collect the money. By this time everyone was more than a little tired so sleep was a fantastic idea.Saturday meant a day of shopping for those whose list of things to buy hadn't quite been exhauste
d yet. We collected the girls and headed for San Marco, stopping to begin our 
negotiations for a gondola ride along the way. This worked perfectly as we haggled with two very entertaining gondolieri. As we floated along, Gloria discovered her 'inner flirt' using a range of whistles and eye contact as our gondoliere pointed out suitably cute candidates. Success or failure was indicated with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, accompanied by a lot of laughing. Our next stop was a visit to la Basilica di San Marco with its leaning columns, wavy floor and beautiful mosaics. Back outside, it se
ems that the pigeons are too well fed in the warmer months to be willing to dive bomb people in quite the same way that they do in winter, so we let them to scavenge for crumbs and checked out the Bridge of Sighs instead. Shopping then began in earnest on the Rialto with many masks and glass jewellery being purchased, just to further complicate the luggage issues. We wound our way back to Canareggio to drop off our bags before getting lost in the tiny, winding calli on our way back to the girls' hotel, so that they could also drop off their purchases before dinner. In the light drizzle we headed back to the La Serenissima restaurant where Gloria was overjoyed to have pizza with corn on it and some of the girls indulged in some flirting with the locals at the next table. This time though, the speed-eating challenge came from the boys, who claimed they were starving. A final coffee at the little restaurant next to the girls' hotel rounded off the day, much to the merriment of the waiters as uncontrolled laughter broke out due to Anastasia's confusion over many things (Michelle pointed out that eventually she would realise that she was in Italy, as if this hadn't occurred to her before) and Jennifer's wishful thinking that there was free pizza on offer. No-one knows where that one came from though! When we finally left, the light drizzle was distinctly heavier so Luke 'invested' in a broken umbrella for 1.50. Well, you do get what you pay for!!!
d yet. We collected the girls and headed for San Marco, stopping to begin our 
negotiations for a gondola ride along the way. This worked perfectly as we haggled with two very entertaining gondolieri. As we floated along, Gloria discovered her 'inner flirt' using a range of whistles and eye contact as our gondoliere pointed out suitably cute candidates. Success or failure was indicated with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, accompanied by a lot of laughing. Our next stop was a visit to la Basilica di San Marco with its leaning columns, wavy floor and beautiful mosaics. Back outside, it se
ems that the pigeons are too well fed in the warmer months to be willing to dive bomb people in quite the same way that they do in winter, so we let them to scavenge for crumbs and checked out the Bridge of Sighs instead. Shopping then began in earnest on the Rialto with many masks and glass jewellery being purchased, just to further complicate the luggage issues. We wound our way back to Canareggio to drop off our bags before getting lost in the tiny, winding calli on our way back to the girls' hotel, so that they could also drop off their purchases before dinner. In the light drizzle we headed back to the La Serenissima restaurant where Gloria was overjoyed to have pizza with corn on it and some of the girls indulged in some flirting with the locals at the next table. This time though, the speed-eating challenge came from the boys, who claimed they were starving. A final coffee at the little restaurant next to the girls' hotel rounded off the day, much to the merriment of the waiters as uncontrolled laughter broke out due to Anastasia's confusion over many things (Michelle pointed out that eventually she would realise that she was in Italy, as if this hadn't occurred to her before) and Jennifer's wishful thinking that there was free pizza on offer. No-one knows where that one came from though! When we finally left, the light drizzle was distinctly heavier so Luke 'invested' in a broken umbrella for 1.50. Well, you do get what you pay for!!!Sunday meant preparations for our return to Perugia, which wasn't without its own dramas. Michelle headed off with the boys to meet the girls so that they could go up the bell tower for its fan
tastic views over Venice, while I spent a stressful two hours in a queue for train tickets. Due to the Icelandic volcano, people were coming off cruise ships and heading straight to the station to try and get tickets north for any time in the next week. The ridiculous queues from Saturday were even worse but everyone was upbeat - I was just happy to get tickets south, even though it meant a long journey on regional trains. A cruise on one of the many traghetti plying the Grand Canal gave everyone a different view of Venice when we all met up again and this was followed by a quick lunch. Before we knew it, it was time to collect our bags and stake out seats on the s
low train to Bologna. This worked okay, but then our next train, an InterCity coming through from Milan, was much busier especially since they had just announced that all trains heading north were already fully booked until at least Friday. We stood up until Florence, with ourselves and our bags blocking the corridor, but then we claimed two compartments and it was all okay. We finally made it back to Perugia at about 11:30pm, just in time to pile into taxis and get back for a quick pasta dinner at midnight. After all, travelling makes you hungry!!!
tastic views over Venice, while I spent a stressful two hours in a queue for train tickets. Due to the Icelandic volcano, people were coming off cruise ships and heading straight to the station to try and get tickets north for any time in the next week. The ridiculous queues from Saturday were even worse but everyone was upbeat - I was just happy to get tickets south, even though it meant a long journey on regional trains. A cruise on one of the many traghetti plying the Grand Canal gave everyone a different view of Venice when we all met up again and this was followed by a quick lunch. Before we knew it, it was time to collect our bags and stake out seats on the s
low train to Bologna. This worked okay, but then our next train, an InterCity coming through from Milan, was much busier especially since they had just announced that all trains heading north were already fully booked until at least Friday. We stood up until Florence, with ourselves and our bags blocking the corridor, but then we claimed two compartments and it was all okay. We finally made it back to Perugia at about 11:30pm, just in time to pile into taxis and get back for a quick pasta dinner at midnight. After all, travelling makes you hungry!!!
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